Metal Slug: The Secret Files
by MetalSonic30
Summary: Metal Slug stories featuring our favorite soldiers Marco Rossi, Tarma Roving, Fio Germi, Eri Kasamoto and more! The stories have been hidden for far too long and now the key is available to unlock the vault containing the secret files! Rated T for Teen [Blood, Violence, Suggestive Content, Swearing, etc.]
1. SPARROWS' Living Legend

The SPARROWS' living-legend

* * *

Metal Slug belongs to SNK Playmore. I own nothing but the character made for the story

* * *

Within the SPARROWS Base, a male cadet walked through the hallways, with a large hiking-type bag in both of his hands. He had blonde, short but spiky hair, blue eyes, a beige skin. He wore a short black sleeved military jacket with two little pockets on each side of the front jacket. He wore a white T-Shirt, blue pants with a brown belt, and black converse shoes. Judging by the looks he was given by soldiers in hallways, he didn't look like he was military-ready.

He made it to the end of the hall and stared at the door on the right. It read, _Room 251_. He was on the 3rd floor. He brought out the key he was given and unlocked it. Upon opening the door, he discovered the room was like he expected: _Lame and Empty_. He found a bed that at least looked comfortable and a desk, closet and bathroom. He tossed his bag on the desk and flopped on the bed, his hands covering his face. He sighed the heaviest sigh he could, but no one seemed to hear him.

" _This sucks..._ "

He released his hands from his eyes and stared at ceiling.

" _Those jerks purposely sent me here!_ ", he thought. " _They knew I was supposed to be sent to the Peregrine Falcons Squad, but they instead sent me to S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S.! I knew rumors that some males were jokingly sent here and later on sent to the PF Squad, but I never knew that some men were STUCK here! And I'm one of those men stuck here! Ugh! Frustrating..._ "

He was angry at the staff in charge of recruiting soldiers into the Regular Army. They did this type of stunt almost everytime a male wants to join the Regular Army.

He didn't really question how quickly he joined the military though. It took him a day. Odd right? He had assumed the Regular Army took the saying, " _We take all that we can_." He supposed that even those with no battle experience nor medical experience could join which was an odd type of system. The system was already corrupt enough.

Two knocks came at his door along with the voice from the other side.

"Is anyone inside?"

The man got up and sat on the edge of the bed, saying, "Its open."

The door opened and came a female. She wore a cap, had glasses, yellow/gold-ish eyes, and red hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a brownish military vest and a short white T-Shirt. She wore brown shorts kneepads and military boots. Her name was Fiolina Germi, or "Fio" for short.

"Hello, my name is Fio."

"Hi."

She sat next to him with a paper and clipboard in hand. She stared at the man.

"I'm going to list of the information about you, given to me from the recruit office. You can stop me if there is any false information."

"Ok."

He didn't really say much. He was still furious over this mistake and harsh joke.

Name: Rock Maverick  
Sex: Male  
Place of Origin: Minnesota, USA  
Date of Birth: June 23, 2007

" _Same Birthday as your favorite Video Game Character I'm assuming..._ " she thought.

Age: 21  
Height: 5"8  
Weight: 75 kg  
Blood Type: A

"Any false information?"

"No."

Fio repeated the word 'Maverick' again and again in her mind. Something about that word made her think she'd heard it before. She tossed away the thought and returned back to business.

"Okay, so do you have any special type of skills?"

"Well..."

Fio held out her hand, allowing Rock to stop.

"You don't have to be nervous. Just speak it out."

Rock sighed, and nodded.

"Special skills you ask... I very good with Fire Arms, I'm acrobatic but not athletic, and I am able to hide even the biggest of objects between my back and jacket in a way that it looks like its not even there."

Fio had a very hard time believing that last one. Sure, she's seen a lot of abnormal things in her life as a soldier but nothing that cartoonish. She just smiled though, showing him respect. She didn't buy the last skill though.

"Any type of weakness?"

"Mice." Rock quickly said.

Fio blinked twice. "Um, excuse me, did you say, mice?"

"Correct. I'm not the biggest fan of them."

Fio coughed. She wasn't expecting THAT type of weakness.

"Excuse me for asking, but, why?"

"It's just their fast movement on the ground scares me and the fact that they could be pratically EVERYWHERE. I've had this fear since I was five."

"Any other weakness?" Fio asked.

"Uh, no, that's pretty much it. Mice and Rats. ESPECIALLY RATS."

"O-ok then." Fio said cheerfully, yet awkwardly.

Fio looked at Rock. He wasn't exactly military-ready with his casual clothing.

"We'll get you into training soon so we can see if your skills are true."

Rock frowned. "I'm assuming you don't believe my skill about hiding things behind my back."

Fio sighed and smiled. "Not in the slightest."

"Okay, let me show you something." Rock said getting up.

Rock went towards his desk and grabbed his bag. He shoved the bag between his back and the jacket and in seconds, the bag had 'disappeared'. He turned around slowly and his back looked completely normal, no bump where his bag would've been or nothing. Fio was left with a shocked expression.

"It appears I've... _*cough*_ ...been proven wrong." Fio said nervously. Rock had pulled out his bag again and sat it on the desk again.

"That is a useful and amazing skill." Fio said, clapping.

"Thank you! I was, hoping I'd hear that from Marco Rossi. I mean, not that hearing it from you is bad either!" Rock said, not trying to affend the woman who was older than him by a year.

Fio perked upon hearing the name Marco Rossi.

"Did you say, Marco Rossi?" Fio asked.

Rock looked at Fio. "Yes. Marco is such an inspirational guy! I hear he and his buddy Tarma easily took down that devil, General Morden in the first war! I also heard that two female soldiers helped Marco and Tarma in future battles against Morden, Amadeus and even Aliens! I always thought that Fio was my favorite because she looked so cute! Not only that but..." He stopped immediately.

Fio was smiling, blushing also. She felt flattered to have been called cute. Rock had realized that THIS was the Fio that helped Marco and the others in all the battles involving Morden. He smiled nervously.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were _the_ Fio."

" _He must not be very bright, but that's alright._ It's okay." she said waving her hand. "It was actually quite nice being complimented like that."

She got up and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You have quite the skill, one that can be very useful in any future battles we might come across. When that day comes, we'll make sure you're there. But first, we'll have to train to ensure that you are ready for the battlefield."

"Ha! Okay!" Rock said excited.

Fio walked away, with her two fingers on her chin. She was clearly thinking about something.

"With his type of skill, he could be someone really special. The PF Squad has Hyakutaro Ichimonji maybe..." Fio suddenly gasped excitedly, scaring Rock. It made it worse when she ran to Rock and held onto his shoulders, shaking him a little.

"I've got it!"

"Y-You've got w-w-what!?"

"The Peregrine Falcons have their living-legend, _Hyakutaro Ichimonji_!"

"I know him! He's the one who shoots out those little hadokens! But, is that _what you've got_?"

Fio ignored his comment, not rudely, but because she was still expressing her new idea.

"YOU! Rock Maverick, will be our living-legend!"

"M-me!? A living-legend?!" Rock said surprised. Fio nodded her head with a smile still on her face.

"I dunno... I mean, I'm honored that I could be a living-legend to the S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. but, shouldn't a female be chosen? I mean it make sense right?"

"Who cares about the gender! The point is, I choose you, Rock Maverick!"

Rock had a sweatdrop come down his face. How she said the last part of the sentence made him think of Pocket Monsters... er, Pokemon, uh... Which ever works. Back on topic though, he was honored to be chosen has a legend. It was quite an honor indeed.

"Do I get anything for this type of job?" Rock asked.

"Job? It's your destiny! You'll get everything you've ever wanted!" she said metephorically.

Rock's eyes shot open. He knew that this was going to be amazing, especially with Fio as one of her teachers.

* * *

 _6 Months and 12 days later..._

Shortly after General Morden and the Martians joined with the Regular Army to together stop the new alien invasion known as Invaders AKA Venusians, Marco, Tarma, Fio, Eri, Ralf and Clark ended up in China where the Invaders have attacked first.

Within the sewers, our heroes were getting outnumbered by fifty, no, hundreds of Invaders closing in on them.

"They're getting too close for comfort, Marco!" Tarma yelled, using his remaining ammo of the Heavy Machine Gun taking out two deadly ball spinning Invaders.

"Just keep going!" Marco yelled out, rescuing a P.O.W. who gave him extra ammo for his Double Machine Guns.

Eri started getting desperate and started throwing her grenades in multiple directios, taking out at least 4 or 5 Invaders. Ralf used is famous Vulcan Punch to take out a few, but despite their efforts, they just kept coming.

"No way, I'm going down like this! Clark, back me up!" Ralf yelled, sweat around his face. Clark came him using the Zanetsu Sword weapon he saved a little while back.

Fio reached into her pocket and brought out a radio communicator.

"Fio here! Is our "weapon" any closer yet? Over."

"The "weapon" has just arrived and is heading your way. Over."

"Great."

Fio tossed her communicator back into her pocket and continued shooting with her Heavy Machine Gun, having more ammo than Tarma did.

Marco gave his Double Machine Guns to Tarma, using a Shotgun instead. The Invaders were going down, but it didn't seem to end.

"Fio! Is he ANY closer!? I don't know how much longer I can take these crappy aliens!" Eri asked with anger in her tone

"He's _getting_ closer!" Fio said with certain.

"He's _taking_ too long!" Eri angrily replied.

Above from the broken ceiling, someone was falling down. It wasn't a second P.O.W. that fell down like the first one randomly did, but instead, it was someone else. He was on his knees, grinning.

He reached behind and brought out a Super Grenade weapon, much to everyone's, except for Eri and Fio, shock. He shot what seemed like, endless amounts of Super Grenades at the Invaders, blowing them up with ease. He back up towards the group shooting more Super Grenades at the Invaders. The men asked no questions at the moment and continued shooting at the Invaders. In no time, the Invader swarm of this area was gone.

Rock threw his Super Grenade back inbetween his back and jacket, exclaiming his supposed catch phrase, "I'm Rockin'!"

Fio walked over to Rock and smiled.

"Thanks Rock!"

Eri angrily walked over and pointed at him furiously.

"It took you long enough! How many times do we have to tell you: Show up ON time!" Eri calmed down and smiled (even if it didn't look like one at first glance). "But you did great nonetheless."

"Sorry about being late. I got kinda lost _and_ I had to help some citizens escape the aliens' capture. I promise this is my LAST time being late! I swear it!"

"It better. Just keep up the good work." Eri said.

Marco walked over to Rock and asked him, "Who are you?"

"Marco Rossi, sir!" Rock got into a salutary position, slamming his hand on his forehead. "I am Rock Maverick, sir! A special helper of the S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. Unit, sir!"

He said sir... a lot. But anyway, Marco did respect the fact that Rock shown respect to him.

"A special helper huh?" Marco said.

Fio walked over and said, "You are his inspiration, Marco."

"Me? Never thought that'd happen."

"Well it happened Major." Tarma said.

"Um, shouldn't we get moving?" Clark said.

"All this talk is boring me to death, literally." Ralf said stretching out his punching arms.

"Right, let's go!" Marco said pulling out his signature handgun.

Fio was left behind, high-fiving Rock. "You did great! But I do agree with Eri. Try to get here quicker okay?"

"Can do!" Rock said, grinning.

"Alright, you go back and report to me if anything bad happens there. I want you to help anyone who needs it."

"Yes, ma'am! Good luck Fio!" Rock said running the opposite direction. Fio nodded back at him and ran to catch up with her partners.

* * *

 **Rock Maverick**  
 **Sex: Male**  
 **Place of Origin: Minnesota, USA**  
 **Occupation: S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S.' Special Back-up Soldier**  
 **Date of Birth: June 23, 2007**  
 **Age: 21**  
 **Height: 5'8"**  
 **Weight: 75 kg**  
 **Blood Type: Type A**  
 **Hobby: Video Gaming**  
 **Favorite Food: Pizza**  
 **Favorite Pastime: Reading**  
 **Dislikes: Mice and Rats**  
 **Most Prized Thing: A Blue Cool-Looking Hedgehog plush toy**  
 **Special Skills: Hiding even the biggest of weapons in his jacket**  
 **Pet Phrase: "I'm Rockin'!"**

Rock was known as the S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. living-legend. He will pull pratically anything out from behind his back and provide rockin' back-up to the soldiers. His father left him and his mother at age three and his mother died at age 16 at the First Morden War. He's lived the rest of his life with his best friends, who later on died during one of the Morden Wars. He joined the Regular Army to help the citizens of the world, trying to prevent them from sufforing like his fallen friends and family have. He is also known to be a student to Fiolina Germi and Eri Kasamoto (who is a assistant to Fio) and also best friends with them. Between Fio and Rock, this would mirror their parents meeting each other as both of their fathers were in the army together...

* * *

Author's Note:

My first Metal Slug story. It was something totally random I wanted to come up with while playing the Metal Slug Anthology on my PSP along with Metal Slug XX. Rock Maverick is based on the Support Helpers such as _Hyakutaro Ichimonji, Glen Achilles, Tabomba, Rumi and Madoka Aikawa, etc._ The character designs in this story is based on the designs used in Metal Slug XX (and Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting, even though Marco is the only character from the Metal Slug series (except for the P.O.W.) to appear in that game). Look up the game online or play it and find the Character Select screen to see what I'm talking about. I chose this design in particular because they resemble the sprite form a LOT more. They especially resemble the character select screens on Metal Slug 2/X/3. My character, however, looks like a typical anime boy. So if he was in sprite form, he wouldn't look like a Marco/Tarma edit hehe, he'd possibly look like a Trevor Spacey edit.

Why'd I do this story? I wanted to take a little break from my Mega Man ZX FF story. And once I got Metal Slug Anthology, I fell in love with the series. In Metal Slug 3, Marco got kidnapped and I played as Fio, so that's why she's a central character in this story. Even though I enjoy all playable characters in the Metal Slug series, I'd always play as Marco (mainly, b/c he was the only playable character in the first one unless my partner played second player and got Tarma). Maybe one day, I'll play a full Metal Slug game by not playing as Marco.

Anyway, please rate and review, all that good stuff.


	2. Rendezvous

Rendezvous

* * *

I do not own Metal Slug. The franchise belongs to SNK Playmore. I only own the characters made for this story.

* * *

 _ **S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. Base, 9:23 AM**_

 _KNOCK KNOCK_

Two familiar knocks came at the recently recruited Rock Maverick's door (after Metal Slug 6). He was lying on the bed on his back reading the Second Part of the Worlds Unite crossover by Archie featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. He's been waiting to get his hand on the missing issue that nowadays, is very, very rare to get.

"Come in." Rock said, keeping his eyes on his comic book.

The door opened and inside came Fio. Rock lowered the book from his eyelids which widened upon seeing Fio. She had the usual type of clothing on, but instead of a desert-sand color it was black. Her shirt was white with letters "SNK" written in a light blue color.

"What's... with the new color?" Rock asked, raising an eyebrow.

"In short, I have special place I need to go today." Fio said, winking at him.

Rock had an invisible question mark above his head. _What was she talking about?_ He thought.

It took him a little while to decipher what she was talking about. Fio just stood there, awkwardly staring at Rock who she assumed was confused.

After a split minute, he knew what was happening.

"You got a date!? With who!?" Rock said jumping (dropping his comic book under the bed without him knowing at. all).

"Don't worry about it. I came here requesting your opinion on my appearance." Fio said, twiddling her thumbs.

"You're asking ME?" Rock said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'd say you look... pretty. But I feel like you should wear something else, like, I dunno... Boy, I'm not good at this... Uhhhhhhhhhhh, you know what, scrap everything after 'But I feel like,' you look perfect!"

It took Fio a long time to keep track at what he was trying to say, but when she did catch on, she smiled.

"Thanks Rock! Oh, and here."

She reached into her pocket and tossed Rock something. It was a piece of paper folded incredibly neat (that's Fio for you). He unwrapped it, and on the paper was her phone number. Not only that, but a message was written in cursive:

" _Call me if need anything.~_ " A heart was next to her finishing sentence.

Rock looked up and saw that Fio was gone, causing the soldier to drop his jaw. He tossed the paper in his jacket pocket and ran out his room, closing the door behind. He ran through the hallway searching for Fio. He looked everywhere and I mean, EVERYWHERE. As he was running through the hallways, he looked behind him as he literally entered a female soldier's bathroom searching for Fio (some brain he has). Unbeknownst to him, he had ran into another female soldier. Unfortunately, it was someone he wished wasn't there.

"What are you running in the halls for moron!?" She screamed.

It was Eri. Rock knew he should've used a little more common sense. There was a rule about running in the halls and the consequences were exactly what Rock had witnessed by bumping into Eri. Even though his teachings with Fio and Eri were over, Eri was still a little harsh towards him. She was kind at least, but still harsh.

"I'm SOOO sorry Eri! I should've never... AH!" Rock's eyes shot wide. "Oh man! Eri, have you seen Fio?"

"Fio?" Eri asked, before sighing. "Oh, yeah, I've seen her. She just left on her date. What's it to you anyway?"

Rock was a little shook. Why was he so nervous? "Fio gave me her phone number in case I needed her."

"...Okay? That sounds like a good thing, Rock." Eri said her arms crossed.

"What if she might be in trouble during this date?!" Rock said wailing his arms.

Eri placed her fingers on her forehead, annoyed. "What makes you think such a thing?"

"In all the video games and comic books and regular books I played and read, whenever a girl gives a friend her phone number, it means for she might need help later on or means for EMERGENCIES ONLY!"

"I think it might be the latter Rock." Eri said sighing. For a man older than him by a year, he was acting like a 10 year old.

"Eri, I gotta go! I gotta tell Marco! And Tarma! And... And... WHOEVER ELSE MAY HELP!"

Rock ran again, not remembering the consequence of that action. Eri sighed again, rubbing her temple.

"What the hell is wrong with him... I better follow him and make sure I keep him on a short leash..." Eri said walking at a fast pace after Rock.

* * *

 ** _Peregrine Falcons Base, 9:40 AM_**

In the living room, Marco Rossi and Tarma Roving were playing Double Dragon Neon, an old reboot to an old game (It was the year 2031 after all). Marco had apparently used his computer skills and hacked the game, making Billy Lee play in his stead while Tarma was forced to play as Jimmy Lee with a controller. Tarma was annoyed by the fact that Marco was basically cheating by forcefully inputting Billy Lee with an A.I. that was making Billy impossible to beat. Tarma was getting beaten left and right during the Giant Tank boss fight, upset that his "partner" wasn't paying much attention to his other partner.

They beaten the boss, but Tarma was still left annoyed.

"You know, what's the point of having these old games if you aren't going to play them?" Tarma asked.

"I'd play them, but why waste my gaming talents if I can get my character to do it for me." Marco smirked.

"Oh you are so talented major..." Tarma said sarcastically.

Out of the blue, Rock Maverick stood in front of the screen, wailing his arms in front of the two soldiers.

"Rock? What are you doing here?" Marco asked.

"Marco! Tarma! I've got big news! BIG!" Rock said, the veins in his eyes showing when he cried "Big."

"What is it?" Tarma asked, confused.

"It's Fio! S-She's-" Before Rock could finish, he was tackled by Eri Kasamoto, and put into a submission hold.

Marco and Tarma blankly stared at the two, confused. They looked at each other before looking at the two again.

"What did I tell you about being an idiot, Rock Maverick!?" Eri said, tempting to bend his arm farther than it could go. Rock continued to tap the ground with his hand. Tarma looked at Marco, smirking.

"That's why I don't try to mess with her like that."

"I think we knew that when she almost blew you to bits." Marco said, smirking back.

In due time, Marco stood up, getting Eri off of Rock.

"That's enough. Rock, what is it with Fio?" Marco said.

Rock dusted himself off, and twisted his arm around, hoping it wasn't broken. He was completely calm, surprisingly thanks to Eri.

"Alright. Fio, she's... On a date."

The room went silent for a good minute. During this time, Trevor Spacey and Nadia Cassel made their way into the room. They were soldiers who tagged with PF Squad and SPARROWS respectively shortly after the Invaders were defeated.

"What's with the awkward silence?" Trevor asked.

Marco was a little upset over what Rock was trying to tell him. It wasn't worth coming all the way here for that. But he kept a smile nonetheless.

"Fio's on a date. That... sounds nice." Marco said.

"N-no..." Rock said. "I think Fio might be in trouble..."

"And... What exactly makes you think that?" Tarma asked, fixing his shades into place.

"I dunno... It's just this feeling. And besides, Fio gave me her phone number."

"She gave you her phone number? That sounds like a good thing, Rock." Marco said.

"That's exactly what I said." Eri said smirking.

Rock frowned. It was hard trying to get them to understand. Truth be told, this story made little to no sense to them. Rock said sighed and started walking out the room.

"N-never mind. I was just over-reacting for absolutely nothing."

Rock left out immediately, quickly.

"It was nice to see you guys, but I should follow him." Eri said leaving.

Trevor and Nadia walked over to Marco and Tarma.

"So, who was the man with blonde, sharp hair? He looked kinda cute." Nadia said.

"That's Rock Maverick. He's a member of SPARROWS." Tarma explained. "I'm surprised you didn't see him around."

"From what I heard, Rock spent many of his days in his room reading that old crossover from 2015, Worlds Combine or something like that." Marco added.

* * *

 _ **Peregrine Falcons Base, 9:53 AM**_

Out in the hallways, a female soldier was hunting for a runaway mouse. She had her hatchet in her hand, twirling it around with her fingers, calling out the runner's name.

"Rock~ Come out to play-y! I promise you there's no harm, only PHYSICALLY."

Eri just happened to pass by the men's bathroom, where Rock was (supposedly) hiding. He was in the lock-stalls, typing in Fio's phone number in his phone and it rang.

"Pick up... Pick up..." Rock said over and over again.

The phone was ringing. So far, so good. Eventually a female voice was heard through the phone.

"Hello?"

"Fio? It's me Rock."

"I gave that phone number almost an hour ago. I guess you couldn't stand not being around me!~"

"Uh-huh. That's right! (OF COURSE THAT'S THE REASON!) Um, where are you right now?"

"Why?"

"Your answer will come if I get mine."

"I'm at the Cafe store I told you about a day ago, why?"

"Oh! I was going to ask you if you could get me a Pizza, but I'll just order in... Ha! Ha!"

"...Um, okay. Anything else Rock?"

"Actually yes! How's your date going?"

"It's going great! His name is Shade and he's a specialist in creating a cure for the Omega Virus that's so tough to get rid of! He's really handsome too!~"

"I bet he is... Um, that's all Fio, gotta go, bye!"

Rock hung up the phone before he could hear Fio return her goodbye. Her held onto his phone, squeezing it tight.

"The Omega Virus...! Oh man, how could Fio be so blind!?" Rock left out the bathroom stall and washed his hands. There was a soldier who listened in on everything.

"Jealous much?"

Rock finished washing his hands and left out the room with three words:

"No where near."

* * *

 _ **Peregrine Falcons Base, 10:00 AM**_

In the PF Squad Hallways, Rock was pondering over why Fio would date such a guy.

" _The Omega Virus...! There's no way this bozo could fix this virus! It's currently impossible! Marco still researching about this particular virus, at least on the electronic side of it! There's no doubt in my mind, Shade is the one who MADE the virus! He must be using this opportunity to hurt her since none of us soldiers seen this guy's face! We need to stop him before Fio gets into serious trouble!_ "

Rock ran back into the living room and found no one but Nadia and Trevor watching Television.

"Um, Nadia and Trevor was it? I need to ask you guys a favor."

"What type of favor?" Trevor asked.

"Remember how I was talking about Fio and her date?" Rock asked.

Nadia and Trevor looked at each other and said in unison: "Yeah."

"Good, I don't have to explain this again. Listen, I was just on the phone with Fio and she told me that she's dating a guy named Shade and that he fixes the Omega Virus that has been roaming around lately."

"The Omega Virus?" Nadia asked. "I don't recall hearing anything about someone getting rid of the virus."

"Exactly. After some pondering, I came to a sudden conclusion: Shade is the wanted man who CREATED the Omega Virus!"

"How can you be so sure?" Trevor asked, but still focused on the topic.

"I remember something back then. The man is not-so-cleverly named Shade. The nickname the Regular Army gave him was NIGHTSHADE! YOU SEE THE PICTURE HERE!?"

Nadia and Trevor jumped. Rock was right. There was no possible way this was a coincidence.

"Oh no! Fio's in trouble!" Nadia said.

"We gotta get Shade! This is our chance!" Trevor said jumping from the couch.

"Alright! If we leave now, we can catch Fio before she leaves her current spot!" Rock said gripping his Handgun.

Rock, Trevor and Nadia left the PF Squad Base and out to South Town.

* * *

 ** _South Town, Cafe Shop, 10:19 AM_**

Fio and Shade was sitting together outside the Cafe shop sipping on coffee and eating a donut.

Fio was laughing at what Shade was saying (won't go into too much detail of what this jerk was saying, so out of laziness, use your imagination) and he just simply smiled.

Rock, Trevor and Nadia peeked their heads out from the bushes with determined looks on their faces.

"Alright, you two understand the plan?" Rock whispered.

The two nodded.

"Quick repeat. I'll walk in and cleverly talk my way into exposing Shade's identity even if it's the slightest hints of them all. When I give the signal, you guys come in and Nadia, you know what to do."

"I understand completely." Nadia said, nodding her head.

"Alright. Mission Start!" Rock said, sneaking his way out of the bushes and enter the Cafe area like he was just crossing the street.

"Oh, Fio! I totally forgot you were here!" Rock said grinning wide.

Fio got a little embarrassed by Rock's appearance during her special day.

"Oh, hi Rock...!" Fio said nervously waving to her student... er, friend. (Forgot Fio? Rock's a full-on soldier, not your student anymore)

Shade suspiciously stared at Rock as he pulled up a chair and intentionally sat between the two.

Rock looked at Shade, looking ever-so-slightly angry. He was hiding his feelings towards this guy. He struggled to get a smile in as he held out his hand to Shade, attempting to shake hands.

"Hello, my name is Rock Maverick."

"Shade, it's a pleasure." He said shaking his hand without hesitation.

Rock wanted to get this done and over with.

"Boy, it is a wonderful day out here! I only wish days like this could last forever! Peace forever I say! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Rock awkwardly laughed. Fio covered her face. "You never said that Rock... Marco and Tarma came up with the Peace Forever phrase...!" She said to herself.

"But alas, we have such violent and humorous wars with that damn General Morden! And Aliens! Don't forget those spaghetti and meatball sacks of flesh! UGH! And then there's this new virus roaming around the area, infecting people! Why can't we just have peace?" Rock said, covering his face with his hand, secretly staring at Shade.

Shade's eyes widened upon hearing the word 'virus'. Although Rock said the signal would be given at the hint, he wanted to play this out a little longer and make sure he's right about his assumption with the guy.

"Shade, you seemed to have heard this virus. Don't lie to me, I hear you have created a CURE! HMMMMMMMM."

"Rock, stop it!" Fio whispered. It was bad enough, having Rock here. She would have never told Rock her location if she knew he was going to do this cliche thing.

"Fio, grown-ups speaking." Rock said not keeping his eyes of Shade.

"EXCUSE ME!? I AM OLDER THAN YOU IN CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN!" She loudly whispered if that makes any sense.

"They call it the Omega Virus, right Shade?" Rock continued, ignoring Fio's threatening whispers.

"Um, yes. I've created a cure for the Omega Virus. But I have not publicly announced it to the public yet." Shade stupidly said.

"And why is that? Don't you think our good people deserve to know that their worries will be over with the cure you have in the palm of your hand?" Rock said with an eyebrow raised.

"It's just that I'm still working out the kinks with this cure. It is very complex. This free-roaming virus WAS created in a lab in Brazil and it's surprisingly mixed with computer data and DNA. It's a deadly virus indeed. I just have to ensure that the cure fully fixes the damage caused." Shade said with detail.

Rock was pissed off and he had the right to be pissed. "So... You haven't fully perfected the cure." He simply asked.

Shade's eyes angrily glared at Rock. "That's right."

Rock smirked and said: _"Then this conversation is over."_

CLAP! CLAP!

It happened so fast... Nadia and Trevor had pounced at Shade from the bushes with their weapons in hand, a handgun for each but Trevor had a knife and Nadia had a taser hidden.

"Shade or shall we say NIGHTSHADE. You are exposed. Give up or you can expect any further consequences you'll already have!" Trevor said.

Shade, now known as Nightshade, laughed villainously.

"Oh, how perceptive you are Rock Maverick! I can see the resemblance to you and your father with that perception!" Nightshade glared at Rock with insanity.

Rock's eyes widened.

"My father? How do you know my father!?" Rock asked.

"He was my first victim of my Omega Virus. It took his life away quicker than I could have anticipated. Unfortunately, lives after his weren't taken away as quickly. A pity since I only had three kills in my attempt."

"You... BASTARD! All of those innocents! Murdered by someone as pathetic as you!"

Fio was shocked to find out that the man she was dating was the wanted mastermind behind the Omega Virus.

"I... I can't believe this...!" Fio was going to be scarred for a while.

"So you admit the murders you committed. You aren't very bright for a mastermind. Now just turn yourself in!" Nadia said taking safety off her gun.

"Oh please! You and what army?" Nightshade asked laughing.

"The Regular Army, that's what!"

Nightshade's eyes widened as helicopters in the sky shown up and soldiers fell from the copter with guns in hand. Five of the best soldiers, Ralf Jones, Clark Still, Eri Kasamoto, Tarma Roving and Marco Rossi were there, guns pointed at Nightshade.

"M-MARCO ROSSI!?" Nightshade yelled in shock.

"Don't mistake me for some famous driver either." He said smirking.

"So, Nightshade," Tarma said with his arms crossed. "What's your next move?"

Without hesitation, Nightshade accepted defeat. "...I surrender."

* * *

Nightshade had been hand-cuffed, locked up by Tarma. Nightshade was making his way towards the military van that was heading to a place JUST for him, until he looked at Rock who was speaking with Marco, Fio, Nadia and Trevor.

"Maverick!" Nightshade yelled out.

Rock looked at him, his face not being completely angry. He still had a semi-angry look because of this event.

"I have to know. How did you figure it out?"

Rock folded his arms, looking at Nightshade until he perked up with someone behind him spoke up.

"That's a good question," Marco said. "How DID you find out?"

"You aren't the brightest mastermind, Nightshade." Rock began. "It all started when I went crazy over the fact that Fio had a date. I knew something didn't feel right-"

"Or, it could've been that fact that you were jealous." Eri said with a smirk.

"I had nothing to be jealous about but I did have something to be suspicious. Eri, you told me that Fio NEVER went on a date and she told you that she'd never go on a date with someone she knew OUTSIDE the base."

Eri's eyes widened. She totally forgotten that. "Fio, you DID say that!"

"I suppose you'd make an exception for a criminal, right Fio?" Marco said with a sly look.

Fio covered her face with her cap, feeling embarrassed towards Marco and co.

"When I remembered that fact, I was nervous to tell you guys that thing Fio told Eri. I know I was trying to tell my story so we could keep an eye of Fio, but I couldn't seem to get out that crucial piece of evidence. Later on, I called Fio to talk my way into finding out who she was dating. Although, she made it too easy by telling me who she was dating without having me ask. I knew immediately that she was in trouble when she mentioned this man had a cure for the Omega Virus."

"That's when he found me and Nadia. He told us very crucial points about how no one has came close to curing the Omega Virus and that he named himself Shade because none of us have seen his face, and therefore thought he could get away with it." Trevor added. "Rock had found out that he was Nightshade, the creator of the Omega Virus."

"He told us the plan to expose Shade for the criminal he was. Rock wanted to make sure we had back up, so on our way getting to Fio, Rock had got me to tell you guys about Nightshade and his location since he believed you'd all listen to me better than you'd listen to Rock because of his previous story not making much sense." Nadia ended.

"And that's how all this started." Marco said with his arms folded. "Good work you three. You've done great today. And let's be glad Fio isn't dating a criminal!"

"Marco...!" Fio said blushing red.

"I wouldn't have guessed that man's son would rat me out so quickly. I've underestimated his family name." Nightshade said.

"Okay, that's enough out of you. Let's go. You are going to give us the cure or you are going to make it and we don't want any funny business either!" Tarma said, pushing Nightshade towards the van.

" _You may have stopped me soldiers, but another virus is coming right around the corner and he will take care of you Regular Army scum._ " Nightshade said to himself.

Eri sighed with her hands on her hips. She felt pretty embarrassed... On the _inside_ at least.

"To think, I completely thought you was just insane Rock. I owe you an apology."

"It's alright Eri. I don't blame you one bit. I'd think I was crazy too." Rock said.

"Well, lesson learned..." Fio said, nervously smiling.

"Yeah, maybe you should date _you-know-who_?" Eri whispered pointing at a certain Italian-American.

" _E-Eri..!_ " Fio said nervously.

" _He isn't a person you know outside the base now is he? And besides we know that you only dated Shade because..._ "

Eri was pushing it too far with Fio. " _Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!_ "

Eri snickered at her completely mortified friend. Marco didn't understand what the conversation had turned into, but he knew it had to do with him, but he decided to stir up a new conversation.

"You know, there was a prize reward for those who caught Nightshade and I think you deserve it Rock." Marco said giving a thumbs up.

"Not really Marco." Rock said rubbing the back of his head.

"What do you mean?" Marco asked.

"It wasn't just me. Nadia and Trevor helped me too. I wouldn't have done this without their help and cooperation. They deserve the money too."

Marco thought about it. Nadia and Trevor DID help him. He even mentioned, "Good job _you three_ ". Short-term memory loss perhaps?

"Very well then. We'll split the reward between you three. How does that sound?" Marco said smiling.

"PERFECT!" Nadia and Trevor yelled in absolute joy.

"How much do we get anyway?" Rock asked.

"Originally, the reward was $90,000, but since we split the cash, you each get $30,000."

"Why do I have the feeling that it was purposely $90,000 and NOT $100,000?" Trevor asked.

"Do you want it to be $100,000? We'd have trouble splitting that." Marco smiled.

"No! No! No! Trevor was just being an idiot! Right Trevor?" Nadia asked in a threatening tone.

"I wasn't being an idiot. I was just-"

"We'll take $30,000 each, thank you!" Nadia said grinning (while covering Trevor's mouth to prevent him from making any mistakes with this)

* * *

 _ **SPARROWS Base, 11:43 PM**_

Back in his room, he laid on his back on the bed staring at the comic book he thought he lost. He panicked looking for that book since it was VERY rare. He had no jacket on but all he had on was a white T-Shirt and military shorts along with white and black socks.

" _Oh man, Sonic and Mega Man!? EVIL!? Man, Sigma has some twisted thoughts! Oh man, I just gotta read the third part immediately!_ "

He was about to get up but...

 _KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Three knocks came at the door this time today.

"Come in?" Rock said confused. Why is someone knocking? Everyone was having a party outside since Nightshade was stopped and he had created a legitimate cure that healed everyone that was infected (Even a few soldiers in S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. and one soldier in PF Squad was infected but cured in minutes).

It was a female who came in, but not the same one from this morning. It was Nadia Cassel instead. She had two milkshakes in her hand.

"Hi."

"Oh, Nadia. Hello."

Nadia sat next to Rock. She smiled at him.

"I wanted to say, thank you, for sharing the prize money with me and Trevor. It was really nice of you to do that."

"It was no problem. At all. After all, you two helped me out and stopped a madman from killing possibly millions of innocents." Rock said.

"Yeah, but it was you who figured it all out. We wouldn't have stopped him so soon if it wasn't for your perceptive skills." Nadia said. "So in response to your generosity, I decided to give you this."

Nadia handed over the shake in her left hand. "It's strawberry." she said smiling.

"Thanks!" Rock said sipping through the straw. It was tasty.~

As he sipped through his drink, he thought about what had happened between Fio and Shade. _Fio met Shade a month after the Invasion of the Invaders. He approached her after she saved him from being captured from Rebel Soldiers. Shade and Fio spent some time together talking about things only they would've understood. Today was the day Shade would've probably KILLED Fio and after he had retrieved enough information from her._

As revenge for this, Fio had kicked Nightshade in his sensitive spot so hard, it might had bursted. He heard that she even hit that spot with her Tonfa.

"Say," Nadia said, interrupting Rock's thoughts. He looked at her, wondering what she was going to say. "How come you aren't out there. Partying with the rest of us?"

"Oh, that. Well, I just wanted to just read my comics and..." Rock said nervously.

"Nevermind that comic reading! Come on!" Nadia grabbed his hand, nearly dropping his drink.

"N-Nadia, wait!" Rock said embarrassed.

"Don't chicken out now! It'll be fun, I promise!" Nadia said with a grin.

"Nadia! You don't seem to be looking clearly!" Rock said. "I'm not wearing the best clothing..."

"O-oh...!" Nadia said blushing. "You get ready then. I'll wait outside."

* * *

 ** _25 Hours Later..._ Just Kidding!**

 _ **2 Minutes Later**_

Rock left his room with his usual clothing. Nadia noticed him and smiled.

"Great, now come on! We got something special waiting for you!" Nadia said dragging him through the hallways.

He was dragged into the S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S' living room. To his surprise, Marco, Tarma, Trevor, Fio and Eri were there all sitting on couches.

"Ah, so you got him to come out." Tarma said, still wearing his shades even though it's nighttime (But it still makes him look awesome).

"What's, uh, going on?" Rock said nervously. Nadia had placed both of her hands on his shoulders.

"We're just playing a little game and thought maybe you'd join." Nadia said.

"What type of game?" Rock asked nervously... again.

"Just sit by me Rock, I saved this seat just for you." Eri said. It was between her and Fio.

Rock gulped and sat were he was designated.

"So, what's this 'game'?" Rock asked.

"Let's just say, you might enjoy it." Fio said.

Marco and Tarma brought out at least 25, no, 50, no no, even worse, 100 bottles of beer! Rock's eyes widened. He never had a sip of beer in his life. He was more of a soda type of guy.

"Beer!? NO! NO! NO!" Rock cried. "I never had a sip of beer and I want it to stay that way!"

Fio chuckled. "Relax, it's not that bad... I mean, it's bad but not THAT bad. It just depends on who's drinking it."

"Why are you drinking beer anyway Fio? And Nadia too!" Rock asked.

"I'm from France. I already started drinking before I came to the U.S." Nadia said. "But, I only had ONE beer back in France."

"I don't drink beer unless I'm compelled." Fio said.

"And you are compelled?" Rock asked.

"Of course! This is a game after all!" Fio said grinning. "The winner gets a new flatscreen!"

"Are you kidding!? A FLATSCREEN!? You can get that anywhere!" Rock angrily replied.

"But this flatscreen just came out on this day. This flatscreen has everything you'd want: Internet, Netflix, Video Games without the console, you name it." Marco said.

Rock's eyes widened at the sentence "Video Games without the console". He wouldn't have to buy a PlayStation X8 or a Wii ZX!

"What do I have to do?" Rock quickly said.

"We knew you'd cooperate. The rules are very simple. One who drinks the most without passing out wins." Tarma said.

"That sounds rather dangerous..." Rock said.

"We're aware of that, but we've got one of the best medical attention in America! And we don't pay a cent for recovery!" Eri said.

The drinks were in the circle where all of the soldiers sat. Marco grabbed the beer labeled "Playmore."

"Bottoms up!" Marco said before drinking his first bottle of beer.

Everyone started drinking, except for Rock of course.

"Come on, I promise you it won't be so bad." Fio said with certainty.

Rock gulped and took a sip of the bottle. The moment he tasted that beer, his mind was filled with so many things he loved: Video Game Characters.

"So, how does it taste?" Eri said, smirking with the top of her nose red. He was simply speechless.

"He's going to be speechless for a while." Tarma said.

"If he's not okay, then I'll have to do something nice for him." Fio said with concern.

"Well, considering that he's drinking more, I'd say he'll be okay for now." Eri said.

Fio, after finishing her first bottle, hugged Rock tightly. "Stay with us now!~" she said teasingly.

Rock's eyes looked (a little) normal, as he shifted his hands in holding onto Fio's arms. He smiled in a odd but funny way.

" _Fiolina..._ You're skin... It's... _soooooooooooo soft..._ _I'm so happy..._ " Rock looked _sloppy._ Fio flushed in red upon hearing these words come from him along with his tone and the way he's speaking towards her. It's as if he was... well, on drugs. This was only mere beer!

"Uh-oh! Looks like someone's in trouble!" Tarma teasingly said.

"I don't think he should have any more..." Fio said with concern. She was afraid of the outcome of this would've been for him. This WAS the first beer in his life.

"Don't worry Fio. This is just a game. I'll personally make sure he doesn't do anything stupid ( _That is, if I can even contain myself during this game...!_ )." Eri said.

Fio nodded her head and gulped down her second bottle before burping rather rudely, causing everyone to laugh (excluding Rock because of his current state), ignoring that fact that Fio was the most polite of them all. Fio just laughed with them and went for a third bottle.

* * *

 _ **S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. BASE, 2:30 AM**_

"Well, let's face it..." Eri started, hiccuping and wobbling her head a little bit. "Between Marco and Tarma, Tarma won this..."

"Woo-Hoo..." Tarma said throwing his hands in the air before falling down on the ground, face-flat. Poor drunken fool probably broke his shades.

Fio woke up after passing out over drinking a little too much. Her glasses were missing. That was something she noticed immediately. Her vision didn't seem to be a problem at the moment fortunately.

"Tarma won huh... What happened after I passed out...?" Fio asked.

"Let's see... Trevor and Nadia kissed and refused to play anymore after that. I puked after drinking like my 22nd bottle..." Eri explained, rubbing her forehead.

"That explains why it smells in here." Fio said with a sweatdrop. Fio looked over and saw Trevor and Nadia sleeping while hugging each other. "And they might be arguing and yelling once they wake up." She looked over at Marco, who was just lying on the couch, with his mouth wide open.

"Rock, however..." Eri continued.

Fio looked over at Rock who was laid back with Fio's glasses on. He didn't look like he was sleeping peacefully. His hair was more wild than it already was, looking like he was on you-know-what (and if you don't, then don't worry about it, think of a Mad Scientist! Okay? Good!). The T-shirt that was previously plain white wasn't completely white anymore as beer spots and stains were on his good shirt. Fortunately, not a single drop got on his jacket.

"What happened to him?" Fio asked.

"Out of all of us, Rock was affected by beer the most. He was drunk after taking two bottles."

"I... remember that part." Fio said.

"But what you don't know is that he tried to kiss me and you... Well, you first, but you passed out before he could. He tried kissing me and... out of stupidity, I allowed him to and that's actually another reason why I puked... He eventually knocked himself out grabbing a beer bottle which is why he passed out. I did catch him hugging you and... groping you."

Fio flushed with red. "He DID that!?"

"Well, he was drunk remember? I did pull him away from you, so you're welcome." Eri said, hiccuping again.

"I knew I should've stopped him when I had the chance..." Fio said.

"I'm surprised you aren't mad. He GROPED your breasts and body while you were sleeping." Eri said raising an eyebrow.

"But beer is what made him do that. I can't be mad because he got drunk. And besides, we pretty much forced him into doing this game." Fio said. She realized that her bra was not clipped together. She suspected Rock had something to do with that. She sighed.

"So, who got close to Tarma?" Fio asked clipping her bra together and taking back her glasses.

"Marco got 2nd place, I got 3rd place, Trevor was 4th, you with 5th, Nadia was 6th, and Rock was DEAD last. He only had like five or seven bottles." Eri explained.

"Well, we better clean up here..." Fio said, stretching about.

Fio dragged Rock's feet while Eri got his hands and took him to his room. Although not awake, he was speaking in his sleep.

" _Fio... Do you think I'll get a large cheese Pizza today? I'd be veerry greatful and I'd do anything for my pizzzzzzza..._ "

Fio smiled at her little friend. "Of course I'll get you your pizza. It'll be the largest pizza in the world..."

Dropping off their "package" on the bed, they laid their backs against the wall, rubbing their foreheads.

"I think Marco might be dead, Fio." Eri said in (false) concern.

"Shut up Eri... Just shut up." Fio said sighing.

* * *

 **UPDATE! Removed some bits of the story and added some more bits to the story. Consider this a... uh... Director's Cut? N-No, that's not it. Whatever, let's just call it a update. Okay? Okay!**

Author's Notes:

Idea to expand on my little story here. I'll be working on Metal Slug fanfics for a little while. Mega Man ZX FF won't be cancelled! Not in the slightest! Break time is all it is.

So, with this story Fio has a date. I got this idea from the Days of Memories 2 Game where Fio is featured as an energetic girl who's in the same class as the protagonist. Never played it only read it on the Metal Slug wikia and SNK Wikia.

This story, in case it isn't obvious, takes place after Metal Slug 6 but before Metal Slug 4. That's why Nadia and Trevor are introduced.

Nightshade is my character and SPOILER ALERT, is apart of the Amadeus Syndicate. The Omega Virus' details will be revealed later on and involves Amadeus and Nightshade.

And just for the heck of it let's do the age list of each character in these stories:

Marco Rossi - 25  
Tarma Roving - 25  
Fiolina Germi - 22  
Eri Kasamoto - 20  
Trevor Spacey - 20  
Nadia Cassel - 18  
Ralf Jones - 39  
Clark Still - 34  
Leona Heidern - 18

Rock Maverick - 21  
Nightshade - 24 or 25

 ** _Lock containing the next secret file is in process. Please be patient. ~_**


	3. The Asylum

The Asylum

* * *

I don't own Metal Slug ya-ba-da-ba-doo. I think we get it. But still, out of respect, Metal Gear... er, Metal Slug is owned by SNK Playmore. I only own the characters made for this story.

* * *

 _ **Unknown Location, 7:32 AM**_

Her whole world began to brighten. She woke up in a dark room with little light. She noticed a few things: Her glasses were missing, as well as her favorite cap and her military vest, only wearing her tank-top. To make matters worse, all of her weapons were missing including her handgun, tonfa, hatchet, you name it. The tie holding her hair into a ponytail was missing, revealing her long hair. She was too confused. What happened?

She got up from the bed and stretched. She spotted her glasses on a desk right next to her... along with a radio. She placed her glasses back on her face and took the radio, heading for the door. To her surprise, she found a familiar man.

Her partner, Rock Maverick, missing his black jacket and only wearing a white T-Shirt. He looked at Fiolina Germi, looking just as confused as she was. Fio examined him, spotting a flashlight in his hand.

They looked at each for a while, speechless. They didn't know what to say. What could they say? They were standing between each other, in a rather creepy, dark hallway, with the ceiling lights flickering on and off.

After long silence, the radio came on, surprising them both. A voice came in through the communicator.

" _Hello my little friends! You've been chosen to participate in our little 'game'._ "

Fio and Rock looked at each other with confusion. Rock was a little more afraid than confused however.

" _Oh, where are my manners. I am the assistant working for my boss in this place! Now, unfortunately, my name cannot be given because it is the rules for staff, you know how rules sound! Ha! Ha!_ "

This guy sounded like a nice guy. But that's all the more reason to be suspicious.  
Creepy atmosphere + Nice-Sounding Guy = Insanity.

" _Anyway, my boss says that you Regular Army people have been a little naughty. He says you've been investigating about our plan. That's no good! Why didn't you two stay home and play with dollies or something? Unfortunately, naughty people deserve punishment. As you can tell, we've taken away almost everything you had, yes that means your cap girly. However, we decided to be generous and let you keep the glasses. We wouldn't be playing fair if you played blind as a bat right? Back to what I was saying, we've taken away all of your military weapons. No cheating! However, we decided to give you guys a... -pause for effect- ... FLASHLIGHT! Ta-da!_ "

Yep, this guy was a lunatic.

" _In case you haven't noticed, our building isn't the cleanest or wealthiest, meaning there are dark areas. That's where your flashlight comes in handy!_ "

Rock checked his socks and to his surprise, he felt something familiar. He decided to keep quiet until the man stopped talking.

" _Okay, so here's our game. We placed you two Regular Army dude and dudette in a asylum-like place. I think you can tell what I'm getting at. The rules are simple: Make it from Point A to Point B. Point B is your exit outta here. Simple right? But this wouldn't be much of a game without obstactles in your path. My boss has ordered me to release all and I mean, ALL of our psychotic inmates. While they will kill each other because they are idiots, they will more likely work like a pack of wolves... Only that your arms will probably be torn from your body and all that. You two can find whatever you want while you traverse your way through our building. You might get lost in here, hee hee! Fortunately, there is a digital map lying around these parts, waiting for you to find it! You can use that to find your way out a lot quicker! Hee Hee Hee! Hehehehe! HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!_ "

The man kept laughing and laughing frightening the two more than they already were. The man started coughing before finishing his message.

" _Alright, keep the radio in your hands. I'll keep in touch with you two... or one of you, hee hee! Good luck! AAAAAHAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA!_ "

When he was turned off, the door at the end of the hallway unlocked, along with the cells containing the inmates. A loud roar roamed the entire place, signifying that they were free. Fio looked at Rock, who was scared. She was scared too, imagining the size of these inmates, but she couldn't allow herself to die like this, not when she has so much more to live for.

"Rock..."

He looked at her, afraid. "Yeah...?"

"We have to stick together... You got to be brave..." Fio said touching his shoulder.

"You became a soldier and now you have to act like one. I'm afraid too, but I can't sit here and just wait to die. We have to get going right away but I need to know if can trust you not to be afraid when we have to fight. Can I trust you?"

Rock touched her hand that was one his shoulder. He smiled a little, nodding his head.

"Right. We'll make it out, scratch-free."

"That's the spirit!" She said scratching Rock's hair. "Now, let's get moving quickly." Fio said holding Rock's hand.

They started moving quickly, not wasting another minute. "Fio...?"

"Yes, Rock?"

"I think you might like the fact that I still have a combat knife."

Fio looked at him so quickly, her neck might of snapped. "Y-you do?!"

He nodded and pulled it out. Fio sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. I guess they didn't look in your socks."

* * *

The soldiers wandered throughout the dark hallways, spotting nothing. Rock had his flashlight in hand while Fio held onto the combat knife Rock had. To their surprise, music that'd be heard in a mall was heard throughout the building. This didn't allow the soldiers to stop for even a second.

Fio thought about how this had happened. They were sent to investigate on the Vermin Project, a secret project that agents in S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. discovered. Something had knocked them out and it was what caused them to be thrown in here for someone's sick game. She looked at the ceiling and spotted a camera. They were watching them. She didn't think she spotted a camera in the hallways they started in. They had brought out a knife that was supposed to be taken. For their sake, she hoped none of them saw Rock pull out his combat knife...

As they pushed-forward, they heard loud fighting from the inmates around the corner. They peeked and saw them fighting like behemoths. They were ripping flesh from each other's bodies, eating them like carnivores and just beating them senseless. Fio almost vomit upon viewing this scene, but she forced it back down, not wanting to give in to this. Rock was afraid, but taking Fio's advice, he stood strong.

"Fio...? Do we have to..."

"...Yes... Unfortunately..."

Fio looked on the ground and to her fortunate surprise, she spotted a sharp weapon... a sword. It's very fortunate to have this type of weapon in the hands of Fiolina Germi when she's after her enemy. Fio looked at Rock and, after switching weapons, shifted her fingers at the nearby couch and the inmates. Rock nodded and stared at the inmates. After observing them for awhile, he took the oppurtunity and silently rolled towards the back of the couch to hide from them. Fio was quite afraid to do this. Sure, she's killed her fair share of people, Rebel Soldiers, Martians, Invaders, Ancient people involving history, Zombies, all that, but she couldn't truely bring herself to kill someone that isn't her enemy. These beasts were probably normal people but were kidnapped just like her and Rock were and infused with mutant DNA to transform them into just that: Mutants. She gripped her sword and forced herself to do what had to be done.

She quickly dashed towards the inmates and sliced one's neck, collapsing to the ground with blood coming from the wound. It was a mixture of red and purple blood... The lights started flickering, as if on cue, and Fio looked at her hands, covered in the blood. While she was in shock, Rock rushed in and knived an inmate on it's sides, screaming in pain. An inmate was charging towards Rock. Out of fear, Rock held the knife in his face, causing the inmate to get stabbed charging towards the knife pointed right at him. Rock sliced it's neck to ensure that it was dead for good. Fio saw Rock do much more work than she had done and snapped out of her shock. She grabbed the sword and slashed an incoming mutant in half. One was behind Fio but she stabbed it's heart from behind, blood gussing outside from the heart. It collapsed on the ground, grunting as death came near.

Fio fell on her knees after killing just one small group. Rock walked up to her and held out his hand. She smiled as she gripped his hand.

"Don't worry about me. I'm just fine." she said with certainty. Rock nodded. "None of is Eri... We never went through the carnage she went through..." Rock said.

"That's true but we have to use Eri's similar tatics if we are going to leave here alive." Fio said.

Soon, static came through Fio's radio. That psychopath's voice was heard through the radio.

" _Hello? Hello, hello? Haha! I knew you'd get past the first group! I just knew it!_ "

Fio had enough of this man's voice and interrupted him.

"Shut up! Why are you doing this to us?!"

" _Calm down beautiful! We already told you: **Naughty people have consequences.** This is your consequence. Maybe you'd think twice about stinking your little noses where it doesn't belong, hee hee!_ "

Fio would've smashed the radio if it wasn't for the fact that this man DOES give out helpful tips.

" _Listen closely, we have two other Regular Army dimwits who followed your example which, may I remind you, is a BAAAD example to follow._ "

"Two Regular Army soldiers!? Where?!" Rock cried.

" _In the room after this one. But I do caution you, they are in cells and you're gonna have to find the key to break their cells open. Just don't expect that to be too easy now! Oh, and By the by, those soldiers have none of their military equipment with them. But they do have something that will benefit you on getting to Point B! Have fun!~_ "

The radio shut off again. Fio sighed.

"What a helpful dick." Rock said angered by the mystery man.

"Two Regular Army soldiers... I hope it's someone we know..." Fio said with hope.

Fio gripped her sword and pushed forward, Rock following. But Rock stopped.

"What is it Rock? We can't keep stopping like this with maniacs on the loose." Fio said turning back to Rock who was heading towards the couch.

"We got to look everywhere Fio. That douchebag said we can find objects out here and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt to look in the cushions."

He lifted all three cushions to find something that was supposed to be difficult to find: The Digital Map. Rock picked it up and observed it. It was a very simple-to-use device. Fio was awfully curious to what Rock had found.

"What is it?"

"It's the Digital Map that dipstick told us about." Rock showcased the device.

" _He's going to keep calling that man names isn't he?_ That's great! Now we should have no problem getting out of here! You should hand it to me." Fio said holding out her hand.

Rock felt offended. "Huh? What, you can't trust me to hold this thing!?"

"No! No! I didn't mean..."

"I was just joking Fio. Here, I'd probably lose it." Rock said chuckling. Fio took it smiling.

"Alright, let's go. We got two other soldiers who need our help." Fio said.

* * *

Fio and Rock went through the door and found two cells. To their shock it WAS two people they knew.

Fio gasped in shock. "NADIA! TREVOR!"

They were completely passed out in their cells and their vests were missing. The two soldiers woke up and in mere seconds at seeing Fio and Rock, panicked. Rock ran towards Nadia's cell, gripping through them.

"Nadia!" Rock cried. Nadia walked over to the bars and held onto his hand.

"Rock...!" Nadia said, her grip getting a little weaker.

"Trevor! What happened to you guys?!" Fio asked, holding onto Trevor's bars.

"Marco sent me and Nadia over to the facility when your communication was lost. He feared that you might've been in trouble. When we discovered a little information in one of their confiditential files, they tranquilized us." Trevor explained rubbing his cheek.

"When we woke up, they were taking us to these cells and we tried fighting back but they knocked us out with shotguns. It still hurts..." Nadia finished.

Rock's face turned to complete fury. "Don't worry, we'll get you out!" Rock brought out his knife and broke through the lock. *CLICK* The lock fell on the ground and broke. Rock pulled open the bars and held onto the fallen Nadia before her face came to contact with the floor. She had passed out from a head-rush or simply from her beating.

"It seems like Eri's pick-locking skills worked out for you. Try picking Trevor's lock." Fio said.

Rock held Nadia on his shoulders and picked Trevor's lock, slower than he picked Nadia's. In time, it was picked and Trevor came out the cell.

"Thanks you two." Trevor said. "I'm lucky, they didn't take away my knife boots."

"They didn't take my knife either." Rock said.

"Alright! Now that we are together, we should be able to get out of here easily!" Fio said excitedly. "Oh! That guy said you two had something useful! What is it?"

Fio looked into Trevor's cell and discovered that his seat had a hidden opening cap. She opened it up and found... Martian gun?!

"What the...!? A Martian Pistol?! Why do they have this?!" Fio said surprised.

"The confidential files mentioned aliens..." Trevor explained. "We didn't read too far into finding out what aliens had to do with this organization."

Nadia woke up from shortly passing out and smiled. "Thank you Rock."

Rock nodded with a childish smile. "Can you stand up?"

"I-I think so." Nadia said, attempting to do so. She was successful, standing on her feet. There was something Rock noticed. Fio lost her tie to hold her ponytail but Nadia had both of her ties to make pigtails.

Fio looked into Nadia's cell and found her favorite type of gun: The Murder Model-1915. 38 MK1Am. This was exactly what pistol the S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. would use and it was Fio's lucky day too, since a what seemed to be endless ammount of ammo was there too. Fio smiled wickedly turning back to her fellow teammates.

"Guys, we're busting out of here!"

Soon the radio started up again and the man's voice was heard.

" _Hey! Hey! Hello happy hunters!_ "

"Shut up dirtbag! We've got everything figured out!" Rock yelled out, smirking with cockiness.

"Yeah, you tell him Rock!" Nadia cheered.

" _Oh, you think you've got everything figured out?_ "

This caught Rock and Fio's attention. The man's voice wasn't really happy at all. In fact, it was rather dark...

" _You think you Regular Army punks are so smart. Well guess what children? You aren't going to leave this facility **ALIVE**. You little shits are going experience the worst death possible with our mutants closing in on you as we speak. **GAME. OVER.**_ "

"You think you can scare us!?" Fio yelled over the radio phone. "You underestimate us Regular Army soldiers! We've fought through supernatural creatures that were more threatening than you! We took down an entire mothership involving an Alien Invasion! What makes you think you can stop us!? With our power combined, we can take down anyone who dares step in our path to a better future!"

"Words like that can't be topped so easily." Trevor complimented.

" _Bah! Typical hero monologue! You're all good as dead as soon as... Wha- What the...! What the hell!? What's this?! AAAAAAAAAARRRRRGH!_ "

Nobody knew what happened. But before they could speak EVERY light in the facility shut off.

 **Pitch black.**

The emergency power came on, making everything red inside the facility. The alarms sounded while the intercom's deep robotic voice stated: " **SECURITY BREECH. SECURITY BREECH. COMPLETE TOTAL LOCK-DOWN IN PROCESS.** "

"We have to go! Now!" Fio cried loading her pistol. Rock gave Nadia his combat knife. He took Fio's sword and Trevor ripped the knife from his boot. After all that, the four made a run for it looking for the nearest exit. Fio looked on the map, discovering that they were about 5 floors below top ground. Mutants came roaring, charging head-on towards them. Rock ran ahead and slashed through a two mutants, killing them in the process. Fio shot three mutants in the head, not missing a single bullet while aiming for headshots. Mutants from where the four were previously at came on the opposite side, trapping them. Nadia and Trevor rushed towards the incoming mutants and stabbed and punched and kicked, doing whatever they had to do in order to live. The mutants were decreasing but increasing still as they just kept coming. The soldiers' couldn't just sit there, so they attacked while moving forward. Rock continued slashing a few mutants but one mutant who was behind roared so loud. Fio saw Rock and screamed.

"ROCK!"

She aimed for the mutant's head but when Rock turned around, the mutant whacked Rock's face, sending him to the ground. The mutant died immediately after Rock was hurt. Fio ran to him and knelt down, continuing her headshot streak.

"Rock! Rock!" she cried out to him.

He tried to move, but he sat on one knee. Fio tried her hardest to keep the mutants as far away from Rock as she could but one mutant in particular got too close to him and grabbed him by his neck. Rock was gasping for air, holding onto the mutant's steel-like arms trying to get him off. It was no use. The mutant slammed Rock against the wall, attempting to claw his eyes out. Fio aimed for the mutant's head but instead of it dying instantly, she had merely shot it's eye. It screamed in total pain, going beserk. It threw Rock against the other wall while a mutant walked up to him and punched him in his stomach. Rock fell to the ground, wheezing and gasping so hard. He was in so much pain, near death. Fio's eyes started getting watery as she continued shooting furiously, screaming her lungs out. She just couldn't do it all, not while Nadia and Trevor were busy. Blood came from Rock's mouth, pouring on the cold floor. She taken down most of the mutants near Rock but more were coming. Was this ever going to end? Nadia and Trevor backed up towards Fio as more mutants, stronger than lesser versions came breaking through their streaks.

"Fio!" Trevor yelled out, getting concerned over the overcrowding of mutants.

Fio didn't say anything. She was too upset over what was happening. She threw out her empty magazine and tossed a new one in seconds, quickly shifting her fingers as bullets were thrown in the hole as fast as Heavy Machine Guns were shot out. She furiously shot the mutants and one by one they collapsed. More mutants came flooding in and they just walked on top of the dead bodies of other mutants. One mutant roared as more mutants, stronger than the last came in. They were running out of options and room.

"This is too much!" Nadia cried, beginning to cry. This was too much for her. They already have someone lying beside them on the verge of death and they were getting too crowded. "I don't want to die! Not like this!" she cried sticking a knife in one mutant's eye.

"Neither do I, but we can't give in!" Trevor yelled in fear and anger.

Fio said nothing. She was already scarred. She became from a kind woman from a wealthy, loving family to a deadly, monster killing survivor. She was already afraid of what was happening. Fio backed up as the mutants were getting too close, but her back touched Nadia's. They were out of room.

The mutants continued to groan creepy and horrifying sounds, roaring loudly as they prepared to close in for the kill. Rock's eyes started to close as he couldn't hold on much longer, slowly seeing disgusting mutants as he last thing to see. Fio switched to the Martian Pistol, having forgotten she had this weapon. She shot a few shots but it didn't seem to make space for our soldiers. She tossed the pistol at the mutant but it did nothing. Fio held onto her heart, so afraid of dying. The mutants got too close. Fio looked over at Rock who was... gone... " _This cannot be happening...!_ "

Fio looked back at Nadia and Trevor who's eyes were in total shock. They didn't know expect this to happen either.

" _This just can't be happening...!_ "

Fio closed her eyes, too afraid to look any further. Her ears heard things strange to her... Mutants were starting to scream in pain. The sounds of rapid fire were heard along with more screams of death. Sounds of a shotgun were also heard along with painful screams. An explosion suddenly occured. Grenades were being chucked and mutants were dying exponentially.

Fio opened her eyes, seeing everything unexpected happen so fast. The mutants on Nadia and Trevor's side were starting to melt for some strange reason and they were all lesser mutants, the weak ones. The stronger versions still stood though but only on Fio's side. They were killed when three familiar people shown up killing the last mutants here. Fio started getting teary upon seeing the faces of those who she thought she'd never see again. She collapsed on her knees, sobbing happily as her Italian-American hero walked towards her and held her tight.

"Marco..." She said crying on his shoulder.

Eri knelt down to Rock and touched his heart. Her eyes changed in concern. Tarma took off his shades. Noticably, one the lenses on his shades were cracked. "Is he..."

Eri sighed. "No... His heart's beating... Very slowly. He needs to see a medic right away."

PF Squad soldiers came in as if on cue.

"Major Rossi, we've secured Doctor Orez but we didn't find his boss anywhere." one said.

"We apologize greatly Marco Rossi sir," another said.

Marco released Fio from his arms and turned to his men. "That's alright. Tell me, are there any more mutants roaming this facility?"

"We have found none after eliminating the ones leading to the underground floor sir." the third said.

"And have you collected all that was taken from our comrades?" Marco asking a follow up question.

"Affirmitive." The first said.

"Alright, take Rock Maverick to Rumi Aikawa and have her take him to the medic in our base immediately. He's not going to live much longer, so hurry."

"Sir!" The three saluted and carried Rock out of the hallways. Fio got teary again, seeing Rock being carried out like that. Marco turned to Fio and smiled.

"Don't worry Fio. He'll be fine, I can assure you."

"It's not just that..." Fio said sobbing again. "...I let him get hurt too much...! It's all my fault...!"

Marco held onto her again. "Ssh... It isn't your fault. You've done everything you could. Trust me if you were in Rock's position and vice-versa, I'd think he'd go beserk on these mutants."

"And then he'd be the one crying just like me." Fio said drying up her tears.

Marco nodded with a smile. Fio threw herself in his arms again, smiling. Eri and Tarma checked up on Nadia and Trevor were scratch-free. However, they were tired, breathing heavily.

"Thank GOD you got here guys...!" Trevor said.

"Will Rock be okay...?" Nadia asked.

Eri and Tarma looked at each other before nodding their heads, confirming this.

And so, the soldiers were at the exit of the facility. One soldier in particular stopped and turned to her left. There was another door that lead to the stairs. She looked over at her teammates before heading for the stairs. She walked up the stairway until she found a room that looked like the Control Center. She looked over at the computers and saw them all online with password-locks cracked. She looked through these confidential files and read through one of them.

" _ENTRY 110: Mutant Generation_

 _These Mutants were created with Alien DNA and we wouldn't be able to create such creatures if it weren't for the Alien technology "borrowed" from the two Alien species that had come to our planet. Surely, this mutant army plan I have will make sure that boss won't have to release 'White Baby'. Surely, my mutant army will be more than enough to take down the Regular Army with ease as soon as their skin's defense is perfected. I have yet to get it complete. Ugh...! It seems Nightshade has gotten himself exposed of his Omega Virus plan. I told him it wouldn't work. The virus kills too slowly and the only one who was killed rather quickly was his first victim. Nevermind that moron, my mutant plan will work perfectly and then boss will praise me for my amazing work and I'll be the one known for destroying the Regular Army!_

 _ENTRY END_ "

"White Baby?" Eri said to herself. She discovered a flashdrive in the main system. She looked at the monitor and all of this information was stored on this single flashdrive. Eri grinned and safely ejected the flashdrive before throwing it in her pocket.

"These guys are making this too easy for us!" she said with a cocky grin. Eri ran back with her teammates, laughing at the suckers dumb enough to leave vital pieces of information on just one flashdrive.

* * *

On the other side of the camera, someone was watching. He wasn't happy, not one bit. He was angrily pissed.

"DAMMIT! These so-called geniuses thought they can impress me?! Bah! Why do I even bother with them?" He turned around on his swivel-chair, ever-so slowly.

"I understand that we are in agreement, correct?" He said.

The mysterious man laughed at the other mysterious man.

"Why of course! We'll provide all the combat you need old man!" He said.

"Even despite the fact the four soldiers took down more than 1000 of your soldiers in two of your wars? Still amazing that you have that many soldiers in your army I must admit."

"In this particular plan, old man, my soldiers will be nothing more than a distraction for you complete your Cry Baby Virus or whatever it's called."

"Fool! The virus is complete and is ready to be released in this world. When I give the order, we start then. Am I clear, Donald Morden?"

"Hehehe...! You haven't changed a bit have you?" Morden devilishly laughed, echoing throughout the entire room.

* * *

2 Weeks Later, Rock Maverick had made a full recovery and Fio was happy to know he was alive. Nadia and Trevor were fine as well, training in order to keep themselves focused on less time focused on being afraid. Eri gave Marco the flashdrive she stole from the Control Center and it contained lots of information about an organization known as The Amadeus Syndicate. They've released the White Baby Virus, taking down multiple online military systems in usage of internet. Upon looking at security cameras, the Regular Army discovered that General Morden is working with the Amadeus Syndicate. With this new Cyber Terroism and the Rebel Army providing Combat backup, the Regular Army dispatch to put a stop to this new threat.

Marco, Fio, Nadia and Trevor went out on the battlefield to take down the Rebel Soldiers and Amadeus, their leader. Eri and Tarma protected scientists as they worked on a vaccine. Rock Maverick worked with Rumi Aikawa providing help with the main four soldiers with items they might need. In the end, the war was over within hours and Amadeus' whereabouts were unknown. Nadia and Trevor were promoted and continued to help the Regular Army whenever they were needed. Rock, however, continued to be just like Hyakutaro Ichimonji, still taking orders from Fiolina Germi, his teacher and friend.

* * *

 _Author's Notes:_

 _This entire file was inspired by me watching Markipler's Outlast: Whistleblower. I wanted to make this file overly dramatic and awfully cliche. It wouldn't work if one person wasn't injured, now would it? My character was the only option since I don't want any females to be too hurt (and Trevor because, he wasn't an option in my opinion). There was little to no humor in this file so sorry for that but it wouldn't work with the dramatic theme of this._

 _This takes place immediately before Metal Slug 4. The epilogue tells you that they won. I don't want to do a whole Metal Slug 4 adaptation even though we know what happened. Consider Rock to be a very, very minor character in the game who doesn't make an appearance whatsoever but provides help with Rumi Aikawa (piloting the Hi-Do in Missions 2, 4, 5 and 6). I'm currently cracking this next lock and judging by what I'm peeking within, I can tell this file's going to be a little fun with humor in it!_

 ** ** _Lock containing the next secret file is in process. Please be patient. ~_**  
**


	4. Pitch Dark

Metal Slug: Pitch Dark

* * *

eromyalP KNS yb denwo si gulS lateM. yrots ym rof edam sretcarahc eht tub gnihton nwo I- What the...!? Crap. Hold on.

Metal Slug is owned by SNK Playmore. I own nothing but the characters made for my story. There we go!

* * *

 _ **11:12 PM, Peregrine Falcons Base**_

Marco, Tarma, Trevor, and visitors, Ralf and Clark were all in the living room, dressed for the night. Although to be honest, their clothing didn't look that much different from what they wear daily... The missing thing was the backpacks. Anyway, the soldiers signed to have the day off on this day specifically for a Guy's Night Out.

A visitor from S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. was lying on the couch, trying his very best to stay awake. This was his first Guy's Night Out since he was a teenager. This was probably his only chance to hang out with five soldiers who had a major role in a war event. It was better to take this oppurtunity now rather than later.

"So... What do we do on a Guy's Night Out anyway?" Trevor asked. "Well, we usually go out to drink and go to buffets and just go insane. Or we... go see ladies." said Tarma.

"S-see ladies...?" Trevor asked nervously.

"Yeah, what's the problem with that?" Ralf asked.

"It's nothing... Nothing at all." He said, denying the obvious.

"You're so lying." Clark said, placing his shades back on after taking them off for literally a nanosecond. Can't live without those shades, can't he?

"Fine! It's... Nadia." Trevor said, finally showing acceptence.

Marco chuckled. He found this to be a little amusing. It was a cliche thing seen everywhere, including real life or the media. It was all the same. "Nadia? If I'm not mistaken, I was told that Rock had his eye for her." Marco said looking at Rock who was like, 98% asleep.

Trevor quickly looked over Rock, thinking there was competition between him and his efforts towards Nadia. Tarma bursted out laughing at Trevor's expression over hearing this.

"Calm down, Trevor. Rock's not after Nadia. I don't think Rock's seeing anyone special." Tarma said, snickering.

After hearing this type of news, Trevor was calmed. He looked back at Rock who was 100% asleep, snoring softly. This confused him greatly. He was supposed to be up all night for this event and yet he's asleep.

"Can we go now? I'm gettin' bored just standing here!" Ralf said fixing his bandana.

Marco looked over at Rock, little Zs coming from his mouth as he snored about ever-so silently.

"Of course he isn't awake..." Marco said covering his face with his hand.

"What did you expect Major?" Clark said shrugging his shoulders. "Rock refused to take that 5 hour energy drink after you guys forced him to drink beer. From what I heard, he didn't have the best night."

A sweatdrop came down Tarma's cheek. "We didn't force him. The girls at S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. persuaded him. For all we know, Fio could have made a deal with Rock that made him drink." Tarma said.

Marco suddenly had a great idea, scratching his chin. He suddenly went over to the couch and tossed the dead-asleep Rock on his shoulder, grinning.

"What are you doing Marco?" Tarma asked.

"I think it's fairly obvious Rock Maverick isn't cut out for this type of thing. He's clearly home sick." Marco smirked. "I think it's time we return the S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S' little helper back to where he belongs."

It didn't take long for Tarma, Clark and Ralf to understand what Marco was getting at. Trevor, on the other hand, had no idea what was happening other than the fact that Rock was going back to base.

Marco started laughing in his victory pose, holding Rock on his shoulders and his hand showing a thumbs up. The other men had no idea why the PF Squad leader was doing this when they haven't won anything. Perhaps the beer he drank before taking the 5 Hour Energy Drink caused this action.

* * *

 _ **11:31 PM, S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. Base**_

Rock Maverick slowly opened his eyes. He had the best sleep since he became a soldier. He heard voices... Feminine voices...

"Ssh! SSH! He's waking up...!"

Rock slowly opened his eyes and discovered that he was no longer in the PF Base's living room but into the S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S' living room. His eyes quickly widened upon seeing four women in his face, three of them having a naughty/cheerful smile on their faces.

"Hi Rocky!~" the girl with pink hair said. Her smile resembled that of a cat. They call this, a nekko smile.

"Oh no... What am I doing here...?!" Rock asked himself. It was Fio, Eri, Nadia and... Leona? They all wore casual clothing... but like the men, their clothing looked identical to what they usually wear.

He quickly jumped on his feet, staring at the women.

"Fio!" Rock said in an irritating tone. "Why am I back at the base?! Oh man! I'm going to miss out on...!"

"Guy's Night Out?" Eri said with a smile on her face. "I wouldn't waste your breath. They're long gone. You fell asleep, so they ditched you back home saying 'you weren't cut out for this type of thing'."

Rock stood there like stone before his entire body felt like pudding. He sunk on the floor, feeling upset. "I was going to have my first Guy's Night Out in years and the people I came to trust ditch me?"

Fio knelt down to Rock's level. "You don't want to hang out with jerks like them anyway. They're men and on nights like these, men are pretty beserk."

It didn't really seem to help Rock's situation, only upsetting him more. He spent almost every day with these females... except for Leona. He rarely spent time with the guys and tonight was suppose to change all of that. Guess that blown up in his face. Fio helped Rock on his feet and decided to (re)introduce him to a female.

"Rock, you've met Leona right?" Fio asked in a cheerful tone.

"No." Rock said, still upset. He didn't realize how rude his response was. Leona didn't seem to mind it though. She was a fearsome soldier, very similar to Eri.

"We've met before Rock Maverick. It was three months ago if I recall correctly." Leona said, folding her arms. "You were awfully happy at the time, but I suppose tonight you go into a rather rude soldier."

Rock looked away, feeling a little and I mean a LITTLE sorry for his tone.

"I suppose that's understandable, considering what happened between you and the other men." Leona said, smiling a little.

Nadia stepped in and talked to Rock. "Listen, we were all going out tonight and since you dropped by, we thought you'd like to join."

"He doesn't really have much of a choice, unless he doesn't want to eat." Eri said.

Rock was forced to participate in this Girl's Night Out... In order to eat. He hadn't eat in hours because of the chef's disgusting lunch and the fact that there was no breakfast today. Rock simply nodded his head and leaned his head on Fio's shoulder.

"Fine."

Fio smiled and held him by the shoulders.

"Whether you like it or not, it's nice to have you around partner!"

* * *

 ** _11:53 PM, South Town_**

The Girls (and the man) walked, chatting about random girly things... Okay, that's not true, they were actually talking about incidents that happened throughout the week such as the Unit's Chef getting burnt by an unexpected greese fire or the time a soldier had a seizure for watching an forbidden Pokemon episode. The girls giggled at all of the incidents, even though their own teammates were harmed. Rock payed most of his attention on his handheld video game system capable of emulating that of a high-tech powered video game console. It seemed to be a 3D Beat em' Up Sidescroller consisting of human-sized ninja turtles and their enemies who are also ninjas.

Although his attention lied on the portable gaming device, he did notice the group of girls stop in front of a large building. Fio looked over at Rock, noticing what he was doing with the device. In an instant, his 5th most prized possession was in the hands of Fio. He had a shocked expression on his face, wondering why she took his game away. Fio gave him a look, expecting him to actually know why.

"You have the night off and spend it playing... this?" Fio asked raising an eyebrow. "Yeah? I do that everyday." Rock said, attempting to retrieve the game back. Fio moved the device from his reach and tossed it into her pants pocket.

"I'll hold onto this until we head back to the base." Fio said, sounding motherly. In this situation, Fio made Rock into a little child or that of a rebellious teenager. The other girls just stared at him, snickering and smirking about as they entered the building. This only upset Rock more. Rock entered the building and the first thing that popped into his mind was bowling. Fio and the girls decided to go to the bowling alley to bowl. Rock wouldn't have minded this if Fio hadn't taken his game away. He would've kept the game in his pocket if given the chance, but instead, it was taken away, kind of like how a mother would take away her teenage son band guitar.

When they got the appropiate shoes, they got on lane 20, the last line on the far, far, right. Fio was at the control pad, assigning teams.

"This might be a problem." Fio said worringly. Nadia walked forward. "What's the problem?" she asked. "I just realized, there's an odd number of people in our group."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it." Eri smirked. "I think me and Leona can take you three on easily. Right Leona?"

Leona nodded with a smirk. They truly believed that they could beat Fio, Nadia and Rock. They might be right since they are aggressive soldiers. Fio smiled, "Okay then, it's settled. Team names... Um, I guess we'll just be 007."

Rock perked upon hearing 007. Was she really going to call them 007? It wasn't a bad name, since there's very little bad things about him and the franchise.

"We'll go with Ikari." Leona said. Fio shook her head. "No good, apparently team names can only accept up to three characters."

"What? How lame..." Leona said crossing her arms. "Fine, we'll go with IxM." Eri said. Fio and Naida were confused. "What does that mean?" Nadia asked. "Ikari Warriors cross Metal Slug!" Eri said with a big smile. Fio and Nadia looked at each other and shrugged. "I'm fine with that." Leona said.

Everything was set. The bowling balls were set in the rack and the pins were in place. Team 007 went first and the leader, Fio, stepped up (Was there really a need for a leader?). She grabbed just any random ball and that ball just happened to be the same color as her hair: Red-Orange. There was also a brown bowling ball that would've matched her hair color if she didn't dye it every two seconds of her life (yes, she dyes her hair just because... Well, I don't know!). She held onto the ball and rolled the ball down the lane. As the ball rolled at a appropiate level, she got a instant strike. Nadia cheered, shaking the grouchy Rock back and forth, hoping he'd cheer. Her twirled his finger around, a quiet 'woo-hoo' coming from him. Fio fist-pumped into the air.

"Yep, I still got it."

She hadn't bowled since she was 13. Her parents would always take her to a bowling alley simply to just have fun. Fio walked back to her seat as Eri came.

"Lucky hit, that was all. Anyone can get a strike Fiolina." she said. Fio just stuck out her tongue, playing along with Eri. The woman grabbed a green ball, resembling that of a grenade and her attire. With great force, she rolled the ball down the lane at breakneck speeds, getting herself a strike. She swung so hard, the ball might have cracked upon impact inside the... thing that brings the ball back. Eri turned back, giving a sly look towards Fio.

"Told ya. Anyone can get a strike."

Fio just happily rolled her eyes. "Nadia, you're up."

Nadia walked up and smiled nervously. She grabbed a silver ball and rolled it onto the lane. It went straight into the gutter lane. Nadia covered her face with her hands as she stupidly made that mistake. "It's okay! Keep your spirits high!" Fio cheered. Nadia grabbed the next ball, yellow like Pac-Man and held it tight. She sighed as her eyes were filled with determination. She went for it again and she crossed her fingers, hoping it wouldn't miss. She sighed in relief when she got a Spare, hitting them all.

Leona walked up towards the rack and stretched out her arms, getting ready to roll. Fio looked over at Rock who didn't seem to be having much fun.

"Rock, I know you don't seem to be happy, but I want you to know that I'm glad you joined us."

Rock looked away, feeling embarassed. "But, you shouldn't have brought the video game along. There was honestly no point in bringing it along. It was pretty pointless, considering that you were out here to have fun."

Rock's anger increased. Small words like that angered him. It sounded like she had offended him because of his love for video gaming. After stretching, Leona rolled the ball down the lane and got herself a strike. She just smiled and walked back to her seat. Fio and Nadia were astonished. She got herself a strike no problem. Fio tapped Rock.

"You're up."

Rock got up quickly and angrily walked towards the ball rack. He grabbed a black bowling ball and swung his arm. However, his face formed into a shocked expression when he discovered that his ball was flying out of his hands. The girls all had a shocked expression as they saw the ball fly right above Nadia's head. In completely irony, the ball collided with a Rebel Soldier's testicles. He crashed to the floor screaming "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!" as if someone threw a grenade at him, even though that was clearly not the case. Everyone saw this unexpected thing happen, looking at the one who threw it. Rock had no idea what to say or do.

* * *

Rock silently moaned into his hands as Fio pat his back, comforting him.

"I can't believe I did that...!"

Eri couldn't believe it either. He must of been very angry to have not have his grip on the ball. "Well at least we weren't kicked out. Even though it was a random Rebel Soldier. If anything, you're a hero."

"But thanks to me, no one is no where near this area." Rock mumbled.

Rock pointed over to his left and from there, every bowler weren't anywhere near them. They tried to keep their distance, playing 2-5 lanes away.

"Rock, it's okay." Fio said. Someone walked over and gave them food that Fio had ordered. "Look, your food's here." Rock had his own plate of cheese pizza. Nadia snuck her way beside him. "Can I have some?"

"Sure." Rock said. Fio shook her head in disbelief. "Why... Just why Nadia? You have your own plate with a burger like you asked!"

"I know, I know. But I just want to sit next to Rock." Nadia whispered.

"Listen, Rock, we won't force you to play if you don't want to. It'll be just me and Nadia versus Eri and Leona. All you can do is watch." Fio said smiling.

Fio took his turn instead and grabbed the exact same ball Rock previously had thrown. Rock just took a slice of pizza and ate it. Nadia threw her arm around his shoulder, trying to further comfort him, while sneaking her hand for a slice of pizza. She nibbled on it while watching the game. Eri looked over at the depressed Rock, smirking.

"Kind of a bummer." Eri started. "I was hoping we'd see a strong man here not another woman. I mean, Fio may act like a child, no offense Fio." Fio facepalmed over this. "But she's more of a warrior than you."

Rock got angry again. He has anger management problems. He might need to seek help. Rock stood up and angrily screamed.

" **SHUT UP!** "

This shocked the group, not expecting this type of behavior from Rock. He was getting too angry and it wasn't good for him. Nadia even got a little surprised by his sudden action, dropping the slice of pizza. He looked around and saw everyone stare at him. Fio stood up and tried her very best to calm him down.

"Rock, listen to me..."

He did the opposite. He took off his bowling shoes and threw on his regular shoes and stormed out the building. Eri looked down on the ground, realizing her mistake. Fio looked at Eri, upset over what she had done. But Fio even calmed down realizing that something was messing with Rock. Eri stared at everyone else who was also looking at her and the second she twitched, everyone resumed bowling. Eri took off her bowling shoes and threw on her regular shoes. She went to Fio and told her:

"I'll go after him."

She quickly moved towards Rock's direction. "Just play without me for now!" she yelled to her partners.

Nadia threw her head down, feeling a little sad over how this night was going.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea Fio..."

Fio sighed. "So much for our Girls Night Out... Let's just continue playing. Leona?"

Leona stepped forward towards the ball rack. "Fine by me."

* * *

 _ **12:33 AM, South Town**_

Rock walked through the streets, covering his forehead. It was burning hot. All this stress was starting to affect him in a negative way. It all started when Marco and the other men ditched him with the girls. He wasn't mad at the girls, that he knew. They were only being friendly and inviting and all he did was take his frustration out on them. He needed this walk, just to clear his mind. He wanted to remove the stress along with the headache as it's pain increased every minute.

"Hey."

Rock stopped and looked to his right. There, lied a dark alleyway with a guy looking about his age.

"I can feel it within you. Anger. Frustration. Stress. I know how to cure it all."

Rock walked over to the man. "I've seen all this crap before dude. I bet you're going to give me some type of illegal drug aren't you?" Rock didn't think this through. As a soldier, he was suppose to talk his way through discovering if this man had illegal drugs and expose him. Instead, he blew it. However, this man was no drug dealer.

"I'm no drug dealer kid. Come over here. We could talk. I'm feeling the same emotion you're feeling right now. Talking it out removes this emotion. Trust me, I've been through this many times in my life..."

Rock, being naive, took steps forward towards the man's position. In an instant, the man grabbed Rock's arm and squeezed it incredibly hard. Rock screamed in pain.

"To think, you were stupid enough to come towards me!"

Rock tried fighting back but each time the man squeezed his arm, his pain refused to make a counter attack.

"And you called me an idiot didn't you Rock Maverick. **DIDN'T YOU!?** "

Rock's eyes widened upon hearing this. He knew who this bastard was.

" _Nightshade...!?_ "

He removed his hoodie, revealing the man who murdered his father and two other innocents.

"Surprised? You shouldn't be! But fear not! This will only hurt for a split second...!"

Rock spotted Nightshade pulling out a gun. It was the PF Squad's Handgun used for men. He quickly kicked the gun from Nightshade's hand, grabbed it and made a run for it into the alley. Nightshade waved his hand off from pain and chased after the man he hated. Rock found a door and broke into it, Nightshade hot on his trail. Rock skipped stairs trying to find a way to escape, tripping a few times on the way. Nightshade did the same, jumping against walls to speed up. Rock kept going for the top until he found a door. He opened it hoping to enter the hallways but his unfocused mind drove him on top of the apartment building. Rock turned around and saw Nightshade there, walking quickly towards him. Rock, even though having the most dangerous and affective weapon in his hand, decided to throw it off the building, not willing to kill Nightshade.

"There! No gun! Now what are you-"

A punch to the face interrupted Rock. Nightshade dove at the fallen Rock, missing as Rock evaded his dive attack. Nightshade dashed at Rock as he kept moving around looking for a good spot to hit. Rock found an opening! He dove in and punched Nightshade in the abodomen. Nightshade just kneed Rock in the face, blood coming from his nose. Rock nearly fell on the ground but quickly got back up as he tried again. Rock jumped and kicked Nightshade towards the ground. Nightshade grabbed Rock's leg and dragged him to the ground. The psycho kicked Rock back on the ground as he tried to get up. Nightshade kicked him over on his back and knelt down. He used his hands to grip Rock's neck. Rock was gagging, trying to break free of Nightshade's choke hold. Rock was starting to lose breath, kicking about, hoping he'd break free. Rock screamed as he pushed himself upwards, tossing Nightshade back on the ground. Rock jumped and prepared for a dive move, but Nightshade rolled out of the way. Nightshade dashed and tackled Rock down but Rock quickly pushed him off him.

Eri was outside looking for Rock. She had a worried look in her eye, concerned about where he could have went.

"Rock! Rock!"

She tried the old method of finding someone you lost. It wasn't working. She started to get cold as the temperture began to drop. It was beginning to rain. Eri looked around, searching for her teammate, hoping he didn't go too far. Suddenly, she heard a scream, it sounded very familiar to her. She looked up and saw Rock near the edge of the building. Her eyes widened as she saw this scene.

"ROCK!"

Eri ran towards the building, going inside and ignoring everyone, hoping she could get towards him in time.

Rock dove in and rolled right past Nightshade as he was prepared to kick him off. Rock went in and punched him in the face before tossing him on the ground. Rock, out of fury, kicked Nightshade's body to knock him unconscious. It seem to have done the trick. Rock started wheezing and coughing as he was starting to become sick over the cold rain. He began to walk towards the door until Nightshade grabbed his leg and once again dragged him onto the ground. Rock looked back and saw the insanity in Nightshade's eyes. "I'm not done with you yet...!"

Rock screamed as he kicked Nightshade's face to release him off his foot. Rock ran towards him and continously punched Nightshade's face. He started tearing up as he continued to smash Nightshade's face with his barehands. He stopped as his hands were now covered in Nightshade's blood. Rock's tears fallen from his eyes, hoping he didn't have to resort to such methods. Eri broke through the door and saw Rock collapse on the ground with blood on his face and hands. She ran towards him without hesistation and knelt down to his level, holding his under arms. Rock looked up and saw someone he never thought would come.

"You..."

"Me... I came because you ran away. I wanted to apologize for my dumb actions back there. But..."

Eri looked over and saw Nightshade's non-living body, bleeding and forming with the fallen raindrops on the ground. Eri hugged Rock tight as she knew that this was the first time Rock has ever killed a real human. Not an alien. Not a mutant. Not even a animal. A human being. Eri helped him on his feet, telling him what he needed to hear.

"Listen to me Rock Maverick. You are going to kill people just like him if absolutely neccessary. You killed this man because he was never going to stop until you died. They call this a fight to the death. You are going to experience these types of battles a hundred times more, do you understand?"

Eri looked away for a second. "What you are feeling is what I felt years ago when I entered the army. Trust me when I say, you'll get over it. It won't be a bother after you go into battles like I have and soon you will."

"...Thank you... Eri..." Rock said washing the blood off his hands. The blood stains were still there but it didn't matter for now. Eri had her arm around Rock's shoulder, walking with him towards the exit. Suddenly, Eri was shoved onto the ground and Rock was being choked from behind. Nightshade was still alive! He quickly pulled out a pocket knife and held it to Rock's neck. Eri got up quickly and was about to dash at the criminal but stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Rock in the hands of him.

"Sit right there...! This piece of crap here is going to die... Nice..and..slowly...!"

"Damn you! You think I'll let you get away with this!?" Eri yelled.

"Either way, this man is going to die. He's killed me when I lost my job at the Amadeus Syndicate. When he exposed me, Amadeus kicked me out and I lost everything I ever cared about. All I wanted to do was impress Amadeus so he could see me as someone worthy to be next to him, I wanted to rule the world alongside him with my girlfriend. She left me because of this bastard in my hands! HE TOOK AWAY MY FAMILY! THIS PIECE OF SHIT RIGHT HERE!"

"I don't care about your sob story! Let my partner go otherwise I'll kill you!" She screamed.

"You don't care?! That's funny, because I don't honestly care what happens to this man here!"

Rock headbutt Nightshade's face, and angrily punched him in the face. Nightshade's knife was in Rock's hands and as Nightshade was about to fall, Rock jabbed the knife into Nightshade's forehead. The man screamed for his life as he hurled towards the ground. Dark. Nightshade saw nothing for his lights were out. He lied on the ground, blood oozing from his body and onto the concrete. A woman screamed as she saw Nightshade's body. Citizens started to gathered around towards the body as paramedics came along with the Police. Eri held onto Rock as she took him back to the bowling alley.

Officers looked up at the skyscraper, thinking that he just saw someone there. It was his imagination he thought...

* * *

 _ **1:01 AM, Bowling Alley**_

Fio, Nadia, and Leona stood outside the building, waiting for Eri and Rock's return. They gasped upon seeing Rock with blood on him.

"E-Eri! What happened?!" Fio asked in shock.

"Nightshade came back. He had an intention of killing Rock here." Eri explained.

"Is he...?" Nadia asked, hoping for the best.

"No. He's not too hurt. He's not injured anywhere. But I can't same the same for that criminal." Eri said.

"What do you mean?" Fio asked.

"...Rock... Rock killed Nightshade." Eri said.

Everyone looked at Rock who had passed out.

* * *

 _ **2:09 AM, S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. Base**_

Fio issued everything involving Nightshade to the office and Rock wasn't punished for the death of Nightshade. In fact he was payed for taking down the criminal. In the living room, Rock lied on the couch with covers covering his body watching Television. It was _Dragon Ball Z Kai_ , an old anime from 2010. Fio, Nadia, Eri and Leona were there with him. Nadia hugged Rock as she hoped he'd feel better.

"I'm surprised you killed him..." Nadia said. "But I won't talk about this anymore. Just eat your pizza. I saved it just for you."

"T-Thanks Nadia." Rock said smiling. She smiled back at him.

Fio walked over to Rock and rubbed his forehead. "Still hot, but I'm sure you'll get better in no time with this." In her hand lied a cure for his splitting headache. Rock was afraid to what it was.

"What is it?"

"It's a pill. Drink it with this cup of water. I'm sure using two cures will speed up the healing."

Rock was hesistant, thinking it was a drug. He did it because of Fio's tips and it tasted awful. He didn't spit it out though, for his own sake.

"Don't worry, it tastes bad at first."

"You're telling me." Rock said, gagging.

"I honestly don't understand how men like you can enjoy shows like this." Leona said observing the show.

"Maybe Eri can explain it." Rock said. "I can't explain it. Even though I'm from Japan, I don't understand Anime. Only men could understand it." Eri was OBVIOUSLY lying. She watches anime all the time when no one's watching.

"Girls... I-I wanna say something." Rock said. The girls looked at him, giving him their full attention. He felt nervous to say what needed to be said. "I want to... apologize, for ruining the night with my idiocy."

"It's nothing to be concerned about Rock." Nadia said. "Like Fio said, we appreciate you coming even if you didn't want to."

"But we could have had lots of fun, but instead all I brought was a depressing atmosphere. All I'm really trying to say is, that I feel like a complete nothing without teammates like you gals. I'm glad that I was sent to the SPARROWS Unit because I get to meet heroes like you guys and I can officially say I feel at home."

"Awww..." Fio said hugging Rock.

He truly felt happy to have someone he could call family, ever since his original family was murdered by Morden and other bad people. He was glad to be in Fio's arms, hoping it never ends because in her arms, he truly felt happy in a long time.

* * *

 _Author Notes:_

 _Sorry, I supposed I shouldn't make assumptions with these files. At least humor was present if not all the way. So, Rock had officially murdered a real life human. Throughout his time with the SPARROWS Unit, he has only killed aliens and half-humans (the mutants from the last file). This file he kills a full fledged human. Nightshade is also insane, intent on killing Rock for what he had did to him. This was dramatic wasn't it? I'm getting ready to crack the next lock containing the next file._

 ** _Lock containing the next secret file is in process. Please be patient. ~_**


	5. Team Deathmatch

Team Deathmatch

* * *

Metal Slug belongs to SNK Playmore. I only own the characters made for this story... EXCEPT for General Blackout, he belongs to AR Studios!

* * *

 ** _5:02 AM, S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. Base_**

 _Camera Powered On. Recording On. Camera on stand._

 _Rock Maverick placed a camera in front of him in his room. This particular camera was a "memory vault"... okay, so it was more like a journal, a diary if you will. He felt like presenting himself on the camera would make him feel special in a way, I dunno. Anyway, Rock didn't look happy. He didn't look angry either but he was a little upset. He had a awkward look on his face as he covered his mouth with his hands, sitting there... awkwardly. After ten awkward, uninterrupted seconds, he spoke up, his voice sounding muffled._

 _"Something," he began, looking at the camera before looking back on the ground. "Something not that chill happened last night."_

 _Recording End._

* * *

 _ **11:50 AM, The General's Office**_

Rock Maverick was in the leader of the Regular Army's office. The leader is General Blackout, an oldie. He's very strict but he is a very proud and definitely responsible leader. However, he seems to get angry very easily but he is quite the gentleman... most of the time. He sat on his large swivel chair, constantly tapping on the large desk that separated him from Rock. He had a rather annoyed look on his face. Why is Rock here exactly? Well, let's have the General speak for me.

"Rock Maverick... I have a pretty strong feeling that you know why I called you in my office." General Blackout said.

Rock shrugged slightly, denying it all. The General simply placed two fingers between his eyes, sighing with his eyelids shut. "Then allow me to refresh your memory." General Blackout said opening his eyes.

"I've received a number of complaints from both the citizens of South Town and, more importantly, the police department about something you did last night. That something was incredibly dangerous. I only have one question: **What the hell were you thinking?!** " General Blackout could've made Rock deaf with his yelling. He yells like that with a microphone and he'll be out of commission.

"To be honest, I don't remember much of last night." Rock admitted, twiddling his thumbs. He wasn't being completely honest which was not a good thing to do towards the leader.

General Blackout sighed again. "Then that only means three things: You were on drugs, you're lying to me or you were drunk Maverick."

"I think it might be the latter General." Rock said. "Okay, so drinking is clearly a problem." General Blackout said. "Which also reminds me... Where did you get a Flamethrower!?"

"W-whuh?" Rock said confused. "Within the complaints, witnesses have clearly said that you've used a flamethrower around the city. You didn't destroy anything (Thank God) but you did frighten people. You don't do that type of crap out there, you just don't! Now that the police know you are from the Regular Army, they think that's how we act! We can't allow this to happen again, am I clear Maverick?" General Blackout finished.

"Yes, sir..." Rock said, ashamed.

"However, I want to know your story. Was there anyone else involved with you being drunk?" The General asked.

"Actually, yes, sir." Rock said. "Three soldiers from this Faction, two of them from the PF Squad, both male and one from the SPARROWS Unit, female."

"Really now?" General raised an eyebrow. "Remember their names?"

"Unfortunately no. But I do recognize their faces, most definitely." Rock said.

"Good. Good. Do you remember what they did?" General Blackout asked.

"If I recall correctly, they, kinda... sorta... talked me into taking some type of special pill and sniffing something that smelled weird..."

"Oh boy..." General Blackout knew what these soldiers got him doing. "You inahled Benzoylmethylecgonine."

"Bezzilenutoilgyne?" Rock said, trying to understand the word (not trying hard enough).

Cocaine, Rock Maverick! You unknowingly inhaled Cocaine!" General Blackout yelled again, this time Rock covered his ears.

"W-WHAT!? No way! No! No! No! No! No! No! NOOO!" Rock cried, gripping his hair in insanity. "I wanted to be drug-free for the rest of my life!"

"Calm down Maverick! Listen, I want you to tell me simply the hair color of these soldiers who gave you Benzo... er, Cocaine."

"Hair color?" Rock said. It sounded odd to know that information. "Well, one of the males' had black hair and the other had grey hair despite looking my age. The female had long red hair." Rock explained.

"Say no more Rock Maverick. I know EXACTLY who they are." General Blackout said. "Listen now, I'm going to let you off with a warning, mainly because this is your first offense. However, I'm assigning you the new temporary janitor for two weeks because you had a flamethrower without authorization. Now, get out of here."

Rock quickly left the room. He thought that was weird way to punish someone but he didn't question it. The second he did, the General reached for his intercom and called in three misguided soldiers. "Joshua, Vick, and Ruby, report to my office immediately."

* * *

While Rock was with General Blackout, the four main soldiers, Marco, Tarma, Eri and Fio, were in the PF Squad Base lab. This wasn't just any oridinary lab however... It was actually Marco's personal lab. It was quite roomy... That is until Marco recently brought a huge machine in his room. It looked similar to a spider, the legs supporting the eight chairs. Right above the chairs was headgear. The four soldiers stared at it for awhile, wondering what it was. It certainly looked like it was a device featured in the sci-fi media. The device covered almost half the room.

"So, what is it?" Eri asked, astonished by how new and expensive it looked.

"It's a project that me and a few other guys have been working on for the past six years." Marco said rubbing his chin with pride with that smile that defines Major Rossi (just think of that smile in Metal Slug 4's Soldier Selection Screen when you choose Marco). "It's a simulator."

"A simulator, eh? What can it simulate?" Tarma asked, interested.

"Pretty much anything involving the Internet or anything Technological like, let's say, a video game console." Marco explained.

"Hold on!" Tarma interrupted. "You had a secret project like this and you didn't include me!?"

"Ignoring the outburst," Marco said under his breath, intentionally ensuring it was heard loud and clear. "Anyway, this simulation machine will allow us to enter ANY Video Game like 007 Goldeneye Reloaded or something like that."

"Is that all it does? Because it sounds like six years went down the drain for something this pointless." Eri said, rubbing her temples.

"As a matter of fact, no. It does a lot more." Marco replied. "In addition of being a toy, it's also our secret weapon."

"How so, Marco?" Fio asked. She sounded like she was for the idea since Marco made it. Besides, the machine looks very futuristic and, hands down, pretty cool.

"I'm glad you asked, Fiolina. This device will allow us to enter enemy base's easily and discover what they are plotting before they can even start it. You know, pretty much how we did back in the Second Morden War." Marco explained.

"So, we can discover the Rebel Army's next plan of domination before they can start and while we're inside their main computers, we can blow it all up RIGHT!?" Eri asked with eagerness.

"Not exactly." Marco said as Eri's eagerness dropped. "If we were to destroy the insides of a main computer while we are inside, then we'd be 'deleted'. Oh, by the way, that means dead in the physical world."

"It's very impressive Major, but, what do you intend on doing with this?" Tarma asked.

"I called in three of my closest and most trusted partners AKA pals to help me test this thing out." Marco said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wait a second!" Eri blurted out. "Are you telling us this thing isn't even TESTED?!"

Marco stuck his finger in his ear after Eri's outburst. "I honestly want to say yes, but then again I don't."

"And your answer is?" Eri asked, with her arms folded.

"It's been 100% by two recently recruited PF Soldiers. So... Yeah?" Marco said. "Now will you join me?"

"I followed you into worse. Let's do it!" Tarma said with excitement.

"Me too! Don't forget about me!" Fio said cheerfully.

Eri was dumbstruck. They'd risk their lives for something like this. She could've just left there and let her friends do it by themselves. But instead, she choose the choice that felt right to her.

"Fine." She simply said.

"Great, now without further ado, get seated." Marco said.

They sat down as instructed. "Buckle in." Marco added. They noticed it was similar to what would be used on a roller-coaster or a child's car seat in the car. It varied on the seats being sat on. Marco walked over and placed the headgear onto his teammates heads. Tarma and Fio were sleep when Marco turned the headgear on. When Marco went to Eri, she stretched her hand out and grabbed Marco's tank-top, scaring the Major.

"Listen here Rossi...! If anything happens to me or anyone else, wherever we end up, I WILL shove a fire bomb down your throat!" Eri said with a threatening tone.

Marco quickly shoved the headgear on Eri's head, slipping her into a deep sleep. Marco went for his seat and slipped the headgear on his head, putting him into sleep.

* * *

 _ **Digital World**_

Marco opened his eyes and found himself beside Eri, Fio and Tarma within a dark gray, misty area. The plane of the area was very digital. This is called, the Digital Dimension, even though they aren't entirely in a different dimension.

"MARCOOOO!" Eri grabbed Marco by his tanktop again, her eyes glowing red. "DON'T YOU EVER CUT ME OFF LIKE THAT!"

"Forget that Eri! Marco, maybe giving us a little warning would've helped. Fio sorta freaked out by how fast we fell asleep." Tarma said.

"Sorry Fio." Marco told her. "It's okay Marco! I was just... caught off guard was all!" Fio told him with a smile.

"So Marco, where are we? It looks a little familiar." Tarma asked as he got Eri off Marco.

"We are in the video game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3." Marco explained.

"That explains it." Tarma said.

"Isn't it one of those World War II inspired games?" Eri asked.

"Uh-huh. We are currently in the Multiplayer section in the game." Marco said. "What we are going to do is going up against other players online. So if I click this..."

A digital touchpad appeared before Marco like in those Sci-Fi movies and television shows, controlling the Multiplayer Menu. He tapped on PLAY ONLINE and was sent to the Online Section of Multiplayer Mode. After that, he went to Find Match which sent him to the Standard section and from there, the Team Deathmatch game was on the menu along with other games.

"Okay, we need to create our own Custom Class before beginning." Marco said.

"Custom Class? What's that?" Fio asked.

"Let's just say, you can equip your own personal weapon and preferences." Marco said. "Feel free to pick whatever you want, I've been playing this game for years and I'm a Level 80 with EVERY SINGLE weapon maxed out!"

Tarma went into Custom Class 2, which he renamed _Metal Slug_ after his favorite tank, and equipped his weapons. He's played this game with Marco a few times, so he's learned everything in the classes. For his Perk, he used the one that allowed him to pick two Primary Weapons. He picked out a BARRETT 50CAL, a powerful sniper rifle and a MK14, an Assault Rifle that he mastered over time. For Perk Slot 1, he chose Blind Eye / Blind Eye Pro, considering he didn't want to be caught sniping on the radar. For Perk Slot 2, he chose Overkill / Overkill Pro, obviously as that allowed him to carry two primary weapons. For Perk Slot 3, he finally chose Dead Silence / Dead Silence Pro. In the Lethal section, Tarma chose C4, considering he always seemed to piss off people by throwing it out randomly and killing his opponents. His Tatical weapon was an EMP Grenade, since he always caught his enemies off guard with it during the online games.

"Um, Marco?" Fio called out.

"Yes, Fio?" Marco replied fixing up his Class.

"What does Killstreaks and Deathstreaks do?" she asked.

Marco went to Fio and showed her everything. Eri closed in as she wanted directions too.

"Killstreaks reward you for killing a specific ammount of enemies without dying. You can choose the Assault Strike Package, Support Strike Package or the Specialist Strike Package. If I were you, I'd choose Support."

"Is that what you chose Marco?" Fio asked.

"Yeah. Eri, maybe you might want to use the Assault Strike Package. I think there might be something in there you'll like." Marco said with a smirk.

Eri rolled her eyes and opened the Assault tab. She was amazed by the selections here. Predator Missile, Sentry Gun, Reaper, the selections were everything she would've wanted in real life but doesn't. She grinned a evil smile and chosen her three selections in her Custom Class.

Back with Tarma, he choose the Assault Strike Package and his selections were UAV, CARE PACKAGE, and ATTACK HELICOPTER. His Deathstreak was JUICED. His Weapon Proficiencies for his first Primary Weapon was KICK and for his second was RANGE. Tarma was prepared for battle!

Eri went into Custom Class Four, which she renamed _She-Devil_ , thinking of her nickname which she didn't find offensive at all, and made her selection. Perk Slot 1 was Extreme Conditioning / Extreme Conditioning Pro, Perk Slot 2 was Blast Shield / Blast Shield Pro. Perk Slot 3 was Stalker / Stalker Pro. Her Primary Weapon was a shotgun known as SPAS-12 and her Second Weapon was the RPG-7, a launcher. She choose DAMAGE for her Weapon Proficiency. She looked over at her Lethal section and was disappointed that she couldn't carry more than one grenade. Regardless, she took the SEMTEX. Her Tactical Weapon was a FLASH GRENADE, always wanting to blind others and attack them right after. In the Assault Strike Package, her selections were a CARE PACKAGE, PREDATOR MISSILE, and REAPER. Her Deathstreak was REVENGE, although she believed she wasn't going to die enough times to get this Deathstreak. Eri was ready!

Fio looked into Custom Class Three, which she renamed _Peppino_ after her teddy bear and 'best friend', and went into the Perks section. Perk Slot 1 was Sleight of Hand / Sleight of Hand Pro, Perk Slot 2 was Hardline / Hardline Pro, which reduces the amount of kills required for any killstreak by one, and Perk Slot 3 was Marksman/ Marksman Pro. Her Primary Weapon was a PP90M1, a Sub Machine Gun. Her Secondary Weapon was a DESERT EAGLE, a Handgun. It wasn't her weapon of prefrence, but she knew she'd make it work out. Her Lethal and Tactical Weapon was a FRAG and CONCUSSION GRENADE. Fio chose the Support Strike Package like Marco suggested and her selections were a COUNTER UAV, AIRDROP TRAP, and ESCORT AIRDROP. Her Deathstreak was JUICED, the same selection Tarma had. Her Weapon Proficiency was MELEE. Fiolina is prepared!

Marco's Custom Class, which he named _Motherload_ , was kept secret from his partners, however his Primary Weapon and Secondary Weapon was a MG36, a Light Machine Gun, and SKORPION, a Machine Pistol. Marco was born ready!

"Okay, are you ready?" Marco said clapping his hands together. The three nodded with determined smiles. "Alright then! Let's do this!" Marco went into Team Deathmatch and was searching for a game. In 15 seconds or less, the four soldiers were thrown into a game in a map known as MISSION. The game was just starting too.

* * *

The game started and the four had their pads ready to choose their Class. They chose them quickly and they had 10 seconds before the game started. They were on the Africa Militia team. Unlike the other two players, Marco, Fio, Tarma and Eri looked like themselves instead of Africans like the other two.

"Holy crap, there's females in this game?!" One player known as OmegaZombieAlpha01 said. He had a British accent.

"I'm pretty sure they just modded their character models." The other player known as Bonding007 said. "People like that have been doing it for like, forever! It's amazing, I'd say!"

The game started with the leader saying, " **Butcher them now! Show No Mercy!** " The other two players left ahead along the bridge and went towards the gateway to confront the enemy players who only have five members instead of six. Fio looked over at Marco asking him:

"Can the other players hear us?"

"Yes and no, but that all depends on your actions." Marco said. He pointed at her ear that had a communication device attached. "You press the button and that'll allow you to disable your communication so the opposing team can't hear. Only your own team can hear you."

"When did that get on my head?" Fio asked, confused about the headset. "The headgear did that Fio." Marco said.

Eri pulled out her RPG-7 and yelled out: "Enough talk! Let's battle!"

She ran along the bridge with the others and shot off a Missile towards two enemy players that just shown up. They were killed the second the missile collided with the wall. A message was shown on the upper right hand corner saying ' **FIRST BLOOD_ERI** '.

"Cool!" She yelled out celebrating early with a fist pump in the air.

Tarma just chuckled and pulled out his BARRET 50CAL. "I'm off in my hiding place. Don't give away my position 'kay?" Tarma said.

"Don't worry, we got this. Get going." Marco said. Tarma nodded and went to his 'secret spot'. It was next to the bridge and was perfect for hiding if the enemy can't see the name above their heads.

Fio turned to her left and spotted two enemy players coming towards them. They immediately pulled out their weapons and started shooting.

"EEK!" Fio cried as she ran off towards the wall. She pulled out her PP90M1 and aimed it at the players. Marco joined her with his MG36, taking out one enemy. Fio took out the other but she got shot at least 3 times by the player she shot at. The enemy player screamed "DAMMIT!" as he got killed. "Wait... Was that a girl!?" he said, realizing the character model.

Fio rubbed her arm, feeling the pain. "This actually hurts...!?" Fio asked. "Yeah, sorry I forgot to mention that. Don't worry, it won't hurt you in the real world, I promise." Marco said. Fio got worried for a minute. "Wait, then what about when we die?" she asked. "Well..." Marco didn't know how to answer that. "Don't worry about it then!" Fio said. Marco looked at her. She had a smile on her face, a determined one at that! "I'll die thirty times and I'll still have fun!"

Marco smiled. He was glad that this innocent female was a strong soldier. Unfortunately, a knife was randomly thrown and it stabbed Fio's shoulder. Her eyes gone blank as she collapsed on the ground. Marco's jaw dropped. Marco pulled out a Flash Grenade and tossed it out towards anyone approaching him. The grenade exploded and his enemies were blind judging by the sound effect indicating this. He quickly ran out and pulled out his MG36 and released a barrage of bullets at the enemies. Marco had killed three enemy players. A message appeared on the upper-right-hand corner again saying 'TRIPLE KILL! Marco'. Fio was right behind him after she viewed how she got killed on the Kill Cam.

"Marco!" Fio cried happily. "Talking like this is going to get us killed. We gotta keep moving Fio!" Marco said. Fio nodded. "Right!"

While Marco and Fio were talking, Eri was placing bullets in the bones of her enemy players. She had yet to get killed by a player. One of the enemy players yelled out in frustration. "Am I really losing to a girl?!" Eri smirked villainously and pressed the button on her earpiece. "Yeah, pathetic right?" she replied.

She ran across the area where a building use to be on the upper level and tossed a Flash Grenade and waited for it to explode. She heard a sound indicated that multiple enemies were blind. She grinned and tossed a Semtex right towards them. Two screams were heard as two enemy players were taken out. Eri moved in and found two more players blind. She pulled out her SPAS-12 and started blasting away. However, one of the players wasn't completely blind and started shooting at Eri. One bullet hit her, but she didn't care for it as she killed him right away. "Lucky shot!" she said rubbing her shoulder where the bullet hit her.

The score was **2100 to 500**. The P.M.C.s were losing BADLY.

* * *

 ** _12:24 PM, PF Squad Base_**

Rock walked through the hallways of the PF Base, carrying a mop and bucket, heading towards the Cafeteria Room. It was dirty because of an accident in the room involving soldiers' slipping over spilled milk which caused various foods to fly from their trays and dirty up the lunch room. He walked just past the Simulation Room where Marco, Tarma, Eri and Fio's unconscious bodies were on the chairs. He stopped and took a few step back to see the room and, more importantly, the machine. Rock raised an eyebrow.

"What's this?"

Trevor and Nadia walked by with large boxes in their hands, easily noticing Rock's confusing look.

"It's a Simulation Device Marco and the others made. I helped out too." Trevor said.

Rock looked behind him, seeing Trevor and Nadia. Nadia waved at Rock cheerfully.

"What are they doing in there?" Rock asked.

"They're playing Modern Warfare 3 within the Simulator." Trevor said.

"Wait, how do you know that?" Nadia asked. "You was with me the whole time."

"Marco informed me of what game they were entering from the start." Trevor said.

Rock smirked. If they were inside MW3, then he could be too.

"Trevor, mind setting me up?" Rock said with a smirk.

Trevor returned the smile. "Gladly."

"But, aren't we supposed to take these packages to General Blackout's?" Nadia asked worringly.

"Don't worry, we'll get to that RIGHT after this." Trevor promised.

Rock sat next to Tarma, seeing that there's two chairs beside Tarma. Trevor placed the headgear on Rock's head and tapped in a code only he would know.

"I'll send you into the game these four are in. How's that?" Trevor asked as Nadia bent down with her hands on her knees.

Rock grinned villainously, saying under his breath, "Perfect."

Trevor nodded and tapped the third and final code in as Rock fell asleep.

"Alright, back to the packages." Nadia said, pulling Trevor. "Okay! Okay! Not so hard!" Trevor whimpered as Nadia squeezed tighter purposely.

* * *

 _ **Modern Warfare 3, Map: Mission, 12:27 PM**_

The score was **4300 to 3500**. The P.M.C.s weren't doing so well against the Africa Militia. Bad enough their best player got too frustrated and raged quit, but now they've barely gained any kills/points since he left. All of the remaining five P.M.C.s camped out at their Spawning Area. About to give up all hope. One P.M.C. player went towards the building on the right to camp out and hope that the African Militia enemy players head towards the gorge area. However, he left immediately only to get a headshot from Fio. She hadn't moved from the spot since Marco left out to find the other players with Eri. She was pretty much next to Tarma anyway. She reloaded her gun and expected another enemy to show up. Tarma snickered through his headset, only speaking with his partners.

"This is too easy! I would've hoped to get a challenge!" Tarma boasted. "Normally I wouldn't agree with you Tarma," Marco said before smiling. "But you're right, this is too easy!"

"At least the Rebel Army gave us a-"

Tarma was interrupted when he was shot in the head. Marco's eyes widened, so did Fio and Eri. "Tarma? Tarma?!" Marco cried.

Eri stopped and hid herself from the enemy players. "Marco, what happened?" she asked preparing a Flash Grenade.

"I don't know!" He responded.

"He's here...!" Tarma finally spoke after respawning.

" _He_?" Marco repeated. "Who's here?!"

Fio looked over down the area and saw a player heading towards her. She was shocked to see that this player didn't look like a P.M.C. soldier but someone else. She gasped after she was shot in the chest with the multiple bullets from the MK46, a Light Machine Gun.

Fio quickly respawned and headed towards Marco's location. "It's him...!" she muttered under her breath.

"And I ask again, WHO!?" Marco yelled over the headset.

Tarma and Fio gulped at the exact same time and said at the exact same time... well, they actually whispered the name.

Marco shook his head. "What is he doing here!?"

Eri went towards the others direction, "Let's find out shall we?"

Marco pressed a button on his headset to get the other two players' attention.

"OmegaZombieAlpha1! Bonding007! I need you to follow us immediately." Marco said.

"What is he talking about?" OmegaZombie asked Bonding007.

"Beats me? Hey... uh, guy?" Bonding007 started. He couldn't find out who he was because there was no name above him nor was it in the Result Screen he pulled up. "This is Modern Warfare 3, Team Deathmatch. We rush into battle and kick whoever's ass we find!"

"There's the word TEAM in TEAM DEATHMATCH!" Marco yelled. "If you don't want to get killed and possibly lose your Killstreak, I suggest you follow us immediately to come up with a strategy!"

"Suck it dipstick!" OmegaZombie barked. "No hard feelings, but we'd rather do things our way." Bonding007 politely responded. However they were killed easily when the nameless P.M.C. soldier killed them with his MK46. He grinned villainously, laughing. He sounded a lot like Allen O 'Neil.

"Oh man! This guy's good!" A P.M.C. player said.

"He's the type of player we've been waiting for!" Another said. "Follow him towards victory!"

The five P.M.C. players went to the elite player's direction. He called in a UAV and went forward to find the other players. They were all in one area. He pressed a button on his headset. "Listen fellow players. We're going to find the enemies but we're not going to attack just yet."

This confused the other players. "Are you kidding me!?" One said.

"I kid you not. I have a plan and it will work. However, one of you needs to stay back here." The elite player said.

"I volunteer!" A feminine voice came.

"Good girl. The rest of you, let's move!"

Marco and the rest, including the two previously killed players came to the area. It was behind the building where most players would snipe others.

"So, you've decided to come." Marco said to the two players.

"It happened so fast! I didn't know what the heck happened!" OmegaZombie said.

"Most Level 80s are all bark and no bite but this guy is a totally different story." Bonding007 said.

Suddenly a message was given to the African Militia team specifically.

 **ENEMY UAV SPOTTED! TAKE IT DOWN!**

"Enemy UAV!" Tarma cried.

"Crap, they know where we are at!" Marco said.

"Come on out! We know you're out there!"

Marco perked up as he told the others to reveal themselves. They had determined looks on their faces as they knew who he was.

"Rock Maverick!" Marco yelled out. "What are you doing in here?!"

"Playing Modern Warfare 3, sherlock!" Rock said with a sadistic smile.

"We know that! What are YOU doing here!" Eri yelled back.

"I was thrown into this match when the P.M.C.s only had five players. Six against five doesn't always end up pretty for the latter team, so the game sent me here!" Rock explained.

"But there's no way that you could've entered this match specifically!" Fio stated. "There's got to be a least 50 matches going on right now!"

"She's right! You must've done something to get to this match!" Tarma barked.

"I'm telling the truth here!" Rock said, smiling.

"Um, dude." Rock's teammate asked. "We _are_ on a time limit here." There was only 7 minutes left in the game. Rock smiled and told them. "More than enough time to take these guys down!"

A message was given to Marco and co.

 **ENEMY CARE PACKAGE INCOMING!**

Marco cringed with fury. "You were buying time for your Care Package to get here weren't you!?"

"Whelp he figured it out! Back to shooting!" Rock yelled as he shot at his enemy players. Marco and the rest went back to hiding.

"I don't know how he got them all to cooperate and attack us in groups! This has never happened before!" Marco stated.

"What do we do?" Fio asked.

"We throw them all on their asses that's what!" Eri yelled as she pulled out her last Flash Grenade and tossed it. She didn't hear the sound that told her the enemies were blind.

"Dammit! I didn't throw it high enough!" Eri cursed. However, a Semtex came in between the six players and exploded right when it collided with the ground. It killed the other two players while the remaining four were badly hurt.

"Let's move! NOW!" Marco yelled as he ran away from the firing of guns from the enemy players. They left just in time as one P.M.C. player shot a SMAW missile towards them.

"Move out!" Rock told the other players. The UAV left off just as Marco and the rest started to move, so he sent two sets of players on both sides to ambush them while he stays on top to kill Marco, Tarma, Eri and/or Fio if they were to show up. Two P.M.C. players went towards where the Africa Militia were trying to escape and the other two went on the other exit way to surround them. However, the two that went the back exit were killed by OmegaZombie and Bonding007. Rock looked over to his right to see the two on top of the little house near the second entrance to the upper level. Rock pulled out his RPG-7 and shot a missile at them.

"Oh sh-" Their communication was cut off when the missile killed them both. Meanwhile, Marco and co. broke past the other two P.M.C. enemy players that blocked their exit. A message appeared saying something about SHARE PACKAGE +25. Rock snapped his fingers in success and ran back to where his teammates are going to respawn. He made it there and saw them all running towards the opposing team. One was left behind and it was the female.

"Good work soldier. What was in the package?" Rock asked.

"An Osprey Gunner, sir!" She told him.

"Seriously?" Rock said in surprise. "It's very rare to get that! That's great!"

It was kind of awkward speaking to a female forcefully playing as a male soldier but Rock and the female player didn't seem to mind it.

"Call it in right now!" Rock demanded.

The female did as she was told and called in the Osprey Gunner. She was piloting it.

 **ENEMY OSPREY GUNNER INCOMING!**

"Damn! Rock has everything planned out!" Marco cursed.

"We need to destroy it now!" Eri yelled as she pulled out her RPG-7. She released two missiles at it, but it wasn't destroyed.

"P.M.C. Teammates, return back towards the Care Packages and pick them off before I do!" Rock said to goad his teammates towards him.

"Oh man, free Care Packages! Come on!" The team went for the Care Packages while one quickly sniped Tarma before moving towards the packages too.

Rock had taken two Care Packages, One being a Sentry Gun and Pave Low. One player took the Juggernaut Package which others also tried to get. Another took a AH-6 Overwatch and the last package which was a UAV.

Marco and co. took out the Osprey Gunner but that didn't stop the other team from taking the Care Packages dropped off.

"Does anyone have an affective Strike Package?" Marco asked.

"I've got three." Tarma said as he called in a UAV and then Attack Helicopter. "Make that one, but I need a safe place to deploy my Care Package."

"I got your back Tarma." Marco said. "Fio! Eri! Try to take our enemies down and get Killstreaks! We need them if we are going to beat Rock Maverick!"

"Yes sir!" Fio saluted while Eri went ahead without hesitation.

"Bonding007 and OmegaZombie! Follow the two girls and get killstreaks!" Marco demanded.

"Y-yes sir!" OmegaZombie replied. "You can count on us!" Bonding007 responded.

"For our sake, I hope we can." Marco muttered over the fact that these two together die at least 13 times which was part of the reason the opposing team got an increasing score.

The score was **4700 to 4200**... with only five minutes left.

* * *

 _ **12:30 PM, Regular Army Base**_

"Um sir... The lunch room isn't clean at all."

General Blackout stood up from his chair and stood in front of the PF Squad Soldier.

"Where was Maverick last seen?" Blackout asked.

"In the Peregrine Falcons Base sir! I saw him talking with Private Nadia and Sergeant Trevor." the soldier replied.

General Blackout straightened his suit and walked out of his office.

"Then it looks like I'm speak to those two personally..."

* * *

 _ **Modern Warfare 3, Map: Mission, 12:32 PM**_

The score was **7300 to 7200**... Wait! Scratch that. Eri got sniped by the female soldier (also the only one) from the P.M.C. Team.

The score was **7300 to 7300**.

Rock and Eri confronted each other and they shot at each other. Rock hid behind the blown up truck and pulled out a Semtex. He got back up and threw it right at her. Unfortunately for him, her Shotgun finally killed him, gaining a point for her team. Unfortunately for her, the Semtex was stuck on her, showing a message saying "STUCK".

"Well played..." She smiled before dying.

Marco and co. hid out behind the sniping building, discussing a plan.

"There's only 50 seconds left," Marco began. "We have to end this, but we have to do it strategically."

"Here's the plan," Rock began. He was all the way on the other side where the P.M.C. team would always spawn at the start of a game. "We'll scatter into groups and attack them that way! They'll never see it coming!"

"Alright, let's do it!" One player yelled.

"Okay, two head to the far right path, two take the path next to it, and two will take the path in front of us! Let's do this!" Rock yelled as he and a random player ran to their respective paths.

"Tarma, you take the building and snipe. Bonding007 and OmegaZombie, stay here because you are more likely to get killed. Fio and Eri, you're with me. We'll go to the upper level and find Rock as he is the true danger in our victory. We only have 20 seconds so let's get the Final Kill!" Marco yelled. The group left off (except for Bonding007 and OmegaZombie).

Marco and the girls went up towards the upper levels only to meet two players running towards them. Fio and Eri duck down in front of truck, not wanting to afford losing. Marco took the opportunity and went towards the other path only to meet Rock and his teammate. Marco and Rock aimed their Primary Weapons and quickly pulled the trigger.

The Match Ended... **7500 to 7500?!** Fio, Eri and Tarma gasped. How did this happen? Two different kill cams were shown (Does it usually do that?). It turns out that both Marco and Rock aimed for headshots. Rock didn't get a headshot but instead hit his body and his Teammate shot with him so as Marco got a headshot, Rock and his teammate shot Marco's body.

* * *

 **RESULTS**

RANK_NAME_SCORE_KILLS_ASSISTS_DEATHS

Africa Militia  
80 MARCO - 4360_43_3_15  
80 FIO - 1320_13_1_7  
80 ERI - 1000_10_0_9  
80 TARMA - 500_5_0_5  
78 OmegaZombieAlpha1 - 200_2_0_21  
79 Bonding007 - 200_5_0_18

P.M.C.  
80 ROCK - 4500_42_15_14  
80 MegaSaturn - 2000_20_0_10  
11 VermillionX5 - 1020_10_2_14  
31 IModStuff321 - 100_1_0_25  
70 CrasherCrush0 - 100_1_0_12  
16 JoshuaGeneri10 - 120_1_2_0

(Yeah, you might want to look at Call of Duty games to see what's going on here...)

* * *

 _ **12:42 PM, Peregrine Falcons Base**_

The Headgears came off of everyone's head and the second they did, Eri pounced at Rock, choking his neck violently. He was legitamately dying here!

"Dammit Rock! You just had to show up! We had that game in the bag until your dumbass shown up!" Eri barked.

"That's *cough* funny..! Because I said I'd kick your ass and I kicked your ass!" Rock joked despite the situation he was in right now.

Marco and Tarma together pulled Eri away from Rock as she kicked around, trying to get them off.

"I won't lie, you of all people gave me a good match Maverick!" Marco complimented.

"Of course I did! I only followed your leadership Major." Rock admitted.

"And you shown no mercy in killing me and the others." Fio said annoyed by his actions.

"You're playing Modern Warfare 3 Fio. In any Call of Duty game, you show no mercy! Wait a sec, you don't show mercy out in the real world either, so why are you complaining Fio!?" Rock asked.

"Um, why am I complaining...? Oh, that's right, because you mainly targeted me during the game instead of the man getting the countless Killstreaks!" Fio responded pointing at Marco. Rossi shrugged his shoulders for no reason at all.

To everyone's shock, someone at the door got their attention by rudely coughing. It was General Blackout, looking very angry.

"Maverick, your punishment has extended to a Month." He said without hesitation.

"Shitballs..." Rock muttered under his breath. "Major Rossi, I'm keeping this simulation device until further notice. I also will need to know how it works." Blackout said to Marco.

"Yes sir! (Wait, does he intend on using this?!)" Marco saluted.

"Germi... Your father wants to speak with you. Something about a annual celebration or whatever." Blackout told Fio.

"Oh my gosh! I completely forgotten about our Family Celebration Party! DADDY!" Fio screamed as she ran towards the Phone lines.

"Everyone's dismissed!" Blackout yelled as Marco and Tarma left out. Tarma whispered to Marco: "I guess I'm not in trouble Major."

"Shut it Tarma...! Neither am I!" Marco whispered back.

Eri was about to leave but Blackout stopped her.

"Ah-ah. Not you Kasamoto." Blackout said.

"Am I in trouble?" Eri asked, hoping it wasn't so.

"No, no. Actually, I have a special job for you. I'll lock this door and you can beat the crap of Maverick here. He's been neglecting his current punishment and I believe you of all people will find a reasonable way in getting Maverick to cooperate." Blackout winked.

A villainously smile formed on Eri's face. She gets permission to beat up someone in the base? You better believe she'll accept that in a nanosecond.

Rock's eyes widened as Eri grabbed Rock's shirt. "I gladly accept the job, General." Eri said.

"I thought you would. Thirty Minutes is your time limit. Good Day Kasamoto!" Blackout said cheerfully as he locked the door.

"Oh god...! Please not my face!" Rock pleaded. A loud punching sound was heard from outside along with the scream of pain. "At least it wasn't my face..." Rock said holding onto his stomach.

* * *

 _ **Epilogue**_

 _ **One Month Later...**_

Rock's punishment duration was over. Blackout had officially ended Rock's janitor job and gave it back to the actual janitor who was happy to return to his job. Rock went towards his door but slammed his forehead on the door instead of opening it. It was indeed painful. He slowly slid down to the ground as he kept his head on the door. Footsteps were heard and they were heading straight towards him.

"Rock," The voice was all too familiar. Innocent and cute yet mature.

"Yes Fio?" Rock muffled.

"I'd like to introduce you to your new roommate..."

Rock took his face off the door and looked at Fio and on her left a female. "Hail Satura." Fio finished.

Well doesn't she look cute? She had aqua blue, long hair. Her eyes were emerald green. She wore a purple sleeved vest with a black tank-top. She had purple shorts and black leggings that went down from her hips to her the bottom of her legs. She had black military boots. She wore black fingerless gloves. She also had thick white goggles with grey strappings and yellow lenses lying on her head.

"You're Rock Maverick?" Hail spoke.

"Um, yes?" Rock said, standing up.

"You were on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3! It was a month ago! I was the only female on the P.M.C. Team, remember?" Hail got excited.

Rock thought about it and she was right. She was the female player who took his Care Package under his order and called in the Osprey Gunner.

"What a surprise...!" Rock said.

Fio smiled cheerfully and pushed Hail towards Rock. "Like I said Rock, Hail Satura here, is your new roommate, so you better share the room!" Fio winked.

Fio walked away while Rock introduced Hail to her room. Fio looked down and her smile was turned upside down. Marco stood behind the door leading to Fio's room. She opened it and she appeared to have expected him to be here.

"Did you tell him?" Marco asked.

"No..." Fio said sadly.

"You know you have to tell him soon. His time's running out here." Marco said placing his hand on her shoulder.

"I know... But, I don't know how he'll take it..." Fio replied.

"I'll be there and we'll make sure we get everything resolved so nothing changes after this." Marco reassured Fio.

Fio nodded her head and sat on her bed as Marco left.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Finally complete. I've spent a good few days working on this. And by working on this, I mean cracking the code to the next vault! According to the addition information in this vault, this story is the prelude to the five part story coming up. After I crack that code, I'm going back to writing Mega Man ZX FF. I just need to! I did leave it at a cliffhanger at that!

So the five part story is like the Season Finale to this story. I'm probably late on this, but think about the character designs in Metal Slug XX (Double X) and the Metal Slug: SV-001 Panchinko Slot. Those are Akio's designs of the Metal Slug characters and also the true character design for them in my opinion (Besides, Akio was the character designer in the first three Metal Slug Games (including X) so it makes sense!).

I'm going to fix a few spelling and grammar mistakes in the past few chapters since they are quite noticeable. I might need to check out ZX FF too to fix anything.

That's all I got to say really. Except for these two things:

1 - Special Thanks to AR Studios for allowing me to use his character, General Blackout in my story.  
2 - Maybe Review? I'd like to hear some compliments and criticism. Anything that could help me improve will do.


End file.
